rot, decay, decompose

名詞 decay:

1. the process of gradually becoming inferior
2. a gradual decrease; as of stored charge or current
   同義詞：decline
3. the organic phenomenon of rotting
   同義詞：decomposition
4. an inferior state resulting from the process of decaying
5. the spontaneous disintegration of a radioactive substance along with the emission of ionizing radiation
   同義詞：radioactive decay, disintegration

動詞 decay:

1. lose a stored charge, magnetic flux, or current
   同義詞：disintegrate, decompose
2. fall into decay or ruin
   同義詞：crumble, delapidate
3. undergo decay or decomposition

1. The dentist could detect no decay in her teeth.
   牙醫(yī)檢查了她的牙，未見有齲齒。
2. A source of spreading corruption or decay.
   腐敗的原因傳布腐敗或腐朽的根源
3. Death and decay of body tissue, often occurring in a limb, caused by insufficient blood supply and usually following injury or disease.
   壞疽軟組織壞死或衰退，經(jīng)常由供血不足和緊接著的受傷或疾病而發(fā)生在四肢
4. What made the Roman Empire decay?
   羅馬帝國為何衰亡？
5. The dampness of the climate decayed the books.
   氣候潮濕，把書都霉壞了。

de.cay

v.（動詞）
de.cayed,de.cay.ing,de.cays
v.intr.（不及物動詞）
Biology To break down into component parts; rot.
【生物學】 腐爛：分解成各組成部分；腐爛
Physics To disintegrate or diminish by radioactive decay.
【物理學】 衰變：由于放射性衰變而解體或縮小
Electronics To decrease gradually in magnitude. Used of voltage or current.
【電子學】 衰減：在量值上逐漸減弱。用于指電壓或電流
Aerospace To decrease in orbit. Used of an artificial satellite.
【太空學】 能量衰減：在軌道上運行時能量消減。用于指人造衛(wèi)星
To fall into ruin:
衰亡，毀壞：
例句：
a civilization that had begun to decay.
已經(jīng)開始衰落的文明

Pathology To decline in health or vigor; waste away.
【病理學】 衰弱，消瘦：在健康或精力方面衰退；變得衰弱
To decline from a state of normality, excellence, or prosperity; deteriorate.
使衰退：從正常、優(yōu)秀或繁榮的狀態(tài)衰敗下去，惡化
v.tr.（及物動詞）
To cause to decay.
使腐爛；使衰敗
n.（名詞）

The destruction or decomposition of organic matter as a result of bacterial or fungal action; rot.
腐爛：有機物質由于細菌的活動而受到的破壞或分解；腐爛
Rotted matter.
腐爛的物質
Physics Radioactive decay.
【物理學】 放射性的蛻變、衰變
Aerospace The decrease in orbital altitude of an artificial satellite as a result of conditions such as atmospheric drag.
【太空學】 能量消減：人造衛(wèi)星由于大氣阻力等的作用結果，在軌道高度上能量消減
A gradual deterioration to an inferior state:
衰敗、衰落的狀態(tài)：
例句：
tooth decay; urban decay.
蛀牙；城市的衰落

A falling into ruin.
衰亡

來源：
Middle English decayen
中古英語 decayen
from Old French decair
源自 古法語 decair
from Vulgar Latin *dôcadere
源自 俗拉丁語 *dôcadere
Latin dô- [de-]
拉丁語 dô- [向下]
Latin cadere [to fall] * see kad-
拉丁語 cadere [減低，變?nèi)鮙 *參見 kad-

【引伸】
decay.er
n.（名詞）
<參考詞匯><同義詞>decay,rot,putrefy,spoil,crumble,molder,disintegrate,decomposeThese verbs all refer to gradual change resulting in destruction or dissolution.
這些動詞都表示導致毀滅或分解的逐步變化。
Decay denotes a falling away from soundness;it may imply a stage in deterioration short of complete destruction:
Decay 表示從完好健全的狀態(tài)變?nèi)?；指未達到徹底毀滅狀態(tài)時的惡化階段：
例句：
Dentists advise their patients to brush and floss regularly to prevent their teeth from decaying.
牙醫(yī)建議他們的病人定期刷牙并用潔牙線剔牙，防止蛀牙。

Rot is sometimes synonymous withdecay (
Rot 有時與decay 的詞義一樣(
例句：
wood that had rotted), but it often, likeputrefy, stresses a stage of deterioration marked by offensiveness to the sense of smell:
已經(jīng)腐爛了的木頭)， 但正如putrefy， 該詞經(jīng)常強調(diào)惡化的階段，伴有顯著的令人作嘔的氣味：

例句：
Animal flesh that rots is attractive to vultures.
動物腐爛的肉體對兀鷹很有吸引力。

例句：
The intact carcass of the prehistoric animal was prevented from putrefying by the arctic cold.
史前時期動物的完整尸體，是由于北極嚴寒的保護不致腐爛。

Spoil usually refers to the process by which perishable substances, especially food, become unfit for use or consumption:
Spoil 通常指食物等易壞的物質變得不能使用或消費的過程：
例句：
I put the veal scallops into the refrigerator before they could spoil.
在小牛肉可能變質前，我把它們擱在冰箱里。

Crumble implies the physical breakdown of a substance into small fragments or particles:
Crumble 是物質分裂成碎片的意思：
例句：
We saw the remains of an ancient church that had crumbled to ruins. To
我們看到了那座已變成廢墟的古教堂。

molder is to crumble to dust:
molder 指化為塵土：
例句：
Her grandmother`s shawl had moldered away in the trunk.
她奶奶的圍巾已經(jīng)在箱子里腐爛了。

Disintegrate refers to complete breakdown into component parts and implies the destruction of usefulness or integrity:
Disintegrate 指完全分裂成組成部分，意味著功能整體的被破壞：
例句：
The sandstone faôade had disintegrated from long exposure to the elements.
由于長期暴露在自然環(huán)境中，沙巖的表面已經(jīng)風化了。

Decompose, largely restricted to the breakdown of substances into their chemical components,also connotes rotting and putrefying, both literally and figuratively:
Decompose 主要限于指物質分裂成其化學組成成份，含有腐朽、腐爛的意思，既可以從字面上來理解，也可以從喻意上來理解：
例句：
.trivial personalities decomposing in the eternity of print. (Virginia Woolf).
缺少才華的作家逐漸從永恒的書籍世界中消失 （維琴尼亞·沃爾夫）