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 digitised photo is of a decomposed face and it is about to be run through a special algorithm for our BBC investigation.

From BBC

Working on weekends, the couple installed the pathways and mulched the soil after it had decomposed under the weight of the sheet mulching.

From Los Angeles Times

They will be sentenced on 15 September - more than two years after Victoria's decomposed body was discovered in a shopping bag in Brighton.

From BBC

By the time the exhumation could happen, the body had significantly decomposed.

From BBC

It comes more than two years after the decomposed body of their baby, Victoria, had been discovered in a shopping bag in Brighton.

From BBC

Related Words

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