| Main Entry: | crumble |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | break or fall into pieces |
Synonyms: |
break up, collapse, crumb, crush, decay, decompose, degenerate, deteriorate, disintegrate, dissolve, fragment, go to pieces, granulate, grind, molder, perish, powder, pulverize, putrefy, triturate, tumble |
Antonyms: |
build, put together |
| Main Entry: | crumbling |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | rotting |
Synonyms: |
breaking, breaking up, collapsing, decaying, disintegrating |
| Main Entry: | aging |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | becoming older |
Synonyms: |
crumbling, declining, developing, fading, fermenting, getting along, getting on, maturing, mellowing, senescent, slumping, stale, waning, wearing out |
| Main Entry: | brittle |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fragile |
Synonyms: |
breakable, crisp, crumbling, crumbly, delicate, frail, frangible, friable, inelastic, shatterable, shivery, vitreous, weak |
Antonyms: |
durable, flexible, moveable, resilient, supple |
| Main Entry: | chip |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | knock a piece out of |
Synonyms: |
break, chisel, chop, clip, crack, crack off, crumble, cut away, cut off, damage, flake, fragment, gash, hack, hackle, hew, incise, nick, notch, shape, shear, slash, slice, sliver, snick, snip, splinter, split, whack, whittle |
| Main Entry: | crush |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | compress, smash |
Synonyms: |
beat, bray, break, bruise, buck, comminute, contriturate, contuse, crease, crowd, crumble, crunch, embrace, enfold, express, hug, jam, kablooey, mash, pound, powder, press, pulverize, push, romp, rumple, squash, squeeze, squish, total*, trample, tread, triturate, wrinkle |
Antonyms: |
let go, release, uncompress, unwrinkle |
| Main Entry: | decay |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | breaking down, collapse |
Synonyms: |
adulteration, atrophy, blight, caries, consumption, corrosion, crumbling, decadence, decline, decomposition, decrease, decrepitude, degeneracy, degeneration, depreciation, deterioration, dilapidation, disintegration, disrepair, dissolution, downfall, dying, extinction, fading, failing, gangrene, impairment, mortification, perishing, putrefaction, putrescence, putridity, putridness, rot, rotting, ruin, ruination, rust, senescence, spoilage, spoilation, wasting, wasting away, withering |
Antonyms: |
development, flourish, germination, growth, improvement, ripening, strength, strengthening |
| Main Entry: | decompose |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | rot, break up |
Synonyms: |
break down, crumble, decay, disintegrate, dissolve, fall apart, fester, molder, putrefy, putresce, spoil, taint, turn |
Antonyms: |
combine, develop, grow, improve |
| Main Entry: | decrease |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | grow less or make less |
Synonyms: |
abate, calm down, check, contract, crumble, curb, curtail, cut down, decay, decline, degenerate, depreciate, deteriorate, devaluate, die down, diminish, droop, drop, drop off, dry up, dwindle, ease, ebb, evaporate, fade, fall off, lessen, let up, lighten, lose edge, lower, modify, narrow down, peter out, quell, quiet, reduce, restrain, run low, settle, shrink, shrivel, sink, slack off, slacken, slash, slow down, slump, soften, subside, tail off, wane, waste, weaken, wear away, wear down, wither |
Antonyms: |
add, develop, enlarge, expand, grow, increase, raise |
| Main Entry: | deteriorate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | decay, degenerate |
Synonyms: |
adulterate, alloy, be worse for wear, become worse, break, corrode, corrupt, crumble, debase, debilitate, decline, decompose, degrade, deprave, depreciate, descend, disimprove, disintegrate, ebb, fade, fail, fall apart, flag, go downhill, go to pieces, go to pot, go to the dogs, hit the skids, impair, injure, languish, lapse, lessen, lose it, lose quality, lower, mar, pervert, regress, retrograde, retrogress, rot, sink, skid, slide, spoil, undermine, vitiate, weaken, wear away, worsen |
| Notes: | to degenerate means 'to decline in value, move lower on a scale' but to deteriorate means 'to worsen, to become lowered, or be reduced in value'; degenerate pertains more to character and virtue while deteriorate is more about loss of strength or vitality |
Antonyms: |
build, construct, develop, get better, improve |