decomposed

[dee-kuhm-pohzd]

adjective

1. having undergone decomposition.

2. (of a feather) having the barbs separate, hanging loosely, and not interconnected by barbules.

Other Word Forms

• undecomposed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of decomposed¹

First recorded in 1840–50; decompose + -ed ²

Example Sentences

The scent of a body varies depending on a person's body fat, he said, even if they have decomposed for the same amount of time.

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He described thousands of bodies lying in front of houses and "the smell of gas and decomposed bodies".

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Photographs released by Gaza's medical authorities show some of the bodies badly decomposed, and arriving in civilian clothes or naked except for underwear, some with multiple signs of injury.

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But about three years after death, once the organic matter has decomposed, loved ones break open the front slab of the chamber.

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But all of it came to an abrupt halt last month with the discovery of a severely decomposed body in the front trunk of his Tesla.

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Related Words

• corrupt 
• disgusting 
• moldy 
• noxious 
• overripe 
• putrid 
• rancid 
• rotting www.thesaurus.com
• sour 
• spoiled 
• stale