decayed
Definitions, pronunciation, related words, and community validation from players who tested this word in Spelling Bee.
Community validation
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Spelling Bee Profile
When decayed helps
Base Score
7
Before any board-specific bonus
Unique Letters
5
A C D E Y
Two-Letter Start
DE
Useful for systematic scans
Ending
ED
Check this pattern late
- 7 letters
- 5 unique letters
- DE start
- ED ending
- repeated letters
Try it when
- decayed is worth 7 points before any pangram bonus.
- It uses 5 unique letters, so it can fit boards that include a, c, d, e, y plus any remaining hive letters.
- Watch the repeated-letter pattern (D x2, E x2); those are easy points to miss when scanning quickly.
- The ED ending makes this a useful pattern check after you try the DE start.
- BuzzyWords has saved this word in 1 published Daily snapshot.
Pronunciation
verb
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."
verb
(of organic material) To rot, to go bad.
"The cat's body decayed rapidly."
verb
(of an unstable atom) To change by undergoing fission, by emitting radiation, or by capturing or losing one or more electrons.
verb
(of a quantum system) To undergo optical decay, that is, to relax to a less excited state, usually by emitting a photon or phonon.
verb
Loss of airspeed due to drag.
verb
To cause to rot or deteriorate.
"The extreme humidity decayed the wooden sculptures in the museum's collection in a matter of years."
adjective
Having undergone decay, rotted.
"The decayed remains of the pilot's shirt showed where the plane had been shot down."
adjective
Reduced in circumstances; having lost one's status or fortune.