To pass gradually from a sound, prosperous, or perfect state, to one of imperfection, adversity, or dissolution; to waste away; to decline; to fail; to become weak, corrupt, or disintegrated; to rot; to perish; as, a tree decays; fortunes decay; hopes decay.
To cause to decay; to impair.
Gradual failure of health, strength, soundness, prosperity, or of any species of excellence or perfection; tendency toward dissolution or extinction; corruption; rottenness; decline; deterioration; as, the decay of the body; the decay of virtue; the decay of the Roman empire; a castle in decay.
Harmony makes small things grow, lack of it makes great things decay. Sallust
Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Political chaos is connected with the decay of language... one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. George Orwell
The interval between the decay of the old and the formation and establishment of the new constitutes a period of transition which must always necessarily be one of uncertainty, confusion, error, and wild and fierce fanaticism. John C. Calhoun
In a decaying society, art, if it is truthful, must also reflect decay. And unless it wants to break faith with its social function, art must show the world as changeable. And help to change it. Ernst Fischer