decompose
verb
Simple meaning
Separate into constituent elements or parts.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
deekuhmpohzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dikəmˈpoʊz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
“An electric current can decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen.”
transitive
To separate or break down (something) into its components.
“The bodies decomposed in the heat.”
intransitive
To rot, decay or putrefy.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Separate (substances) into constituent elements or parts
Used this way, decompose is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“An electric current can decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Nearby words
- molder , rarer, so it draws attention
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use decompose
- “The bodies decomposed in the heat.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.