Wither vs Decay - What's the difference?
wither | decay | Related terms |
To shrivel, droop or dry up, especially from lack of water.
To cause to shrivel or dry up.
* Bible, Matthew xii. 10
* Shakespeare
* Dryden
(figurative) To lose vigour or power; to languish; to pass away.
* Byron
* Cowper
To become helpless due to emotion.
To make helpless due to emotion.
The process or result of being gradually decomposed.
* 1895 , H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapter X
A deterioration of condition.
To deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.
# (intransitive, electronics, of storage media or the data on them) To undergo , that is, gradual degradation.
# (intransitive, computing, of software) To undergo , 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).
(of organic material) To rot, to go bad.
(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 0-8160-4973-4), page 349:
(intransitive, transitive, physics, of a quantum system) To undergo , that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon.
(aviation)
To cause to rot or deteriorate.
* Shakespeare
In intransitive terms the difference between wither and decay
is that wither is to become helpless due to emotion while decay is to deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.In transitive terms the difference between wither and decay
is that wither is to make helpless due to emotion while decay is to cause to rot or deteriorate.As verbs the difference between wither and decay
is that wither is to go against, resist; oppose while decay is to deteriorate, to get worse, to lose strength or health, to decline in quality.As an adverb wither
is against, in opposition to.As a noun decay is
the process or result of being gradually decomposed.wither
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl), from (etyl) .Etymology 2
From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) .Etymology 3
From (etyl) (m), .Verb
(en verb)- There was a man which had his hand withered .
- This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered .
- now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave
- names that must not wither
- States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane.
Usage notes
* Not to be confused with whither .Anagrams
* whiter, writhedecay
English
(wikipedia decay)Noun
- I fancied at first the stuff was paraffin wax, and smashed the jar accordingly. But the odor of camphor was unmistakable. It struck me as singularly odd, that among the universal decay , this volatile substance had chanced to survive, perhaps through many thousand years.
Derived terms
* bacterial decay * decayability * decayable * decayer * orbital decay * particle decay * radioactive decayVerb
(en verb)- The pair loved to take pictures in the decaying hospital on forty-third street.
- 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 .
- The cat's body decayed rapidly.
- Uranium decays to radium through a long series of steps with a cumulative half-life of 4.4 billion years.
- The extreme humidity decayed the wooden sculptures in the museum's collection in a matter of years.
- Infirmity, that decays the wise.