different between decay vs debasement
decay
English
Etymology
From Middle English decayen, dekeyen (“to decrease, diminish”), from Anglo-Norman decaeir (“to fall away, decay, decline”), from Medieval Latin *d?cadere, restored form of Latin decidere (“to fall away, fail, sink, perish”), from de (“down”) + cadere (“to fall”); compare decadent and decadence.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /d??ke?/
- Rhymes: -e?
- (US) enPR: d?-k??, IPA(key): /di.?ke?/
Noun
decay (countable and uncountable, plural decays)
- The process or result of being gradually decomposed.
- A deterioration of condition; loss of status or fortune.
Derived terms
Related terms
- deciduous
Translations
Verb
decay (third-person singular simple present decays, present participle decaying, simple past and past participle decayed)
- (intransitive) To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.
- The pair loved to take pictures in the decaying hospital on forty-third street.
- (intransitive, electronics, of storage media or the data on them) To undergo bit rot, that is, gradual degradation.
- (intransitive, computing, of software) To undergo software rot, that is, to fail to be updated in a changing environment, so as to eventually become legacy or obsolete.
- (intransitive, physics, of a satellite's orbit) To undergo prolonged reduction in altitude (above the orbited body).
- 2009, Francis Lyall, Paul B. Larsen, Space Law: A Treatise, page 120:
- Damaged on lift-off, Skylab was left in orbit until its orbit decayed.
- 2009, Francis Lyall, Paul B. Larsen, Space Law: A Treatise, page 120:
- (intransitive, of organic material) To rot, to go bad.
- The cat's body decayed rapidly.
- (intransitive, transitive, physics, chemistry, of an unstable atom) To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons.
- 2005, Encyclopedia of Earth Science (edited by Timothy M. Kusky; ?ISBN, page 349:
- Uranium decays to radium through a long series of steps with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 billion years.
- 2005, Encyclopedia of Earth Science (edited by Timothy M. Kusky; ?ISBN, page 349:
- (intransitive, transitive, physics, of a quantum system) To undergo optical decay, that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon.
- (intransitive, aviation) Loss of airspeed due to drag.
- (transitive) To cause to rot or deteriorate.
- The extreme humidity decayed the wooden sculptures in the museum's collection in a matter of years.
Translations
Further reading
- decay in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- decay in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- Dacey
decay From the web:
- what decays
- what decay mean
- what decay process is shown explain
- what decays teeth
- what decay emits electrons
- what decays into lead
- what decays exponentially
- what decays into gold
debasement
English
Etymology
debase +? -ment
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /d??be?sm?nt/
- Rhymes: -e?sm?nt
Noun
debasement (countable and uncountable, plural debasements)
- The act of debasing or the state of being debased; a lowering or degradation, especially in character or quality.
- 1832, Edgar Allan Poe, "Bon Bon":
- His large water-dog was acquainted with the fact, and upon the approach of his master, betrayed his sense of inferiority by a sanctity of deportment, a debasement of the ears, and a dropping of the lower jaw not altogether unworthy of a dog.
- 2009, Gilbert Cruz, "The Many Faces of Addiction (Book review of America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life by Benoit Denizet-Lewis)," Time, 12 Jan.:
- There's something ugly and fascinating about reading such intimate tales of debasement and depression and failure and self-doubt.
- 1832, Edgar Allan Poe, "Bon Bon":
- The lowering of the value of a currency by reducing the amount of valuable metal in the coins.
Translations
debasement From the web:
- debasement meaning
- what does debasement mean
- what is debasement of coins
- what is debasement in psychology
- what does debasement mean in psychology
- what does debasement of coinage mean
- what is debasement behavior
- what is debasement
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