Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As the animal decayed hundreds of millions of years ago, its body changed in ways that later made it resemble an octopus when preserved in rock.

From Science Daily • Apr. 7, 2026

In “Vaccine Flag,” a vertical banner arcs gracefully across a soft gradient of L.A. haze, but the banner’s fabric is so tattered and decayed that its advertisement for vaccines is barely legible.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

Wage growth has decayed, and persistently elevated inflation is straining personal budgets.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025

And as we’ve stopped moving around, it’s decayed very sharply.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2025

There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water....

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling