decay: implies a slow and not necessarily complete change from a state of soundness or perfection: a ~ Southern mansion.  


decompose: stresses a breaking down by chemical change and often implies a corruption: the body was badly ~d.


rot: implies decay or decomposition, usually of matter, and often connotes foulness: grain left to ~ in warehouses. 谷物谷粒


putrefy: stresses the offensive quality of what decays or rots: corpses ~ing on the battlefield. =battleground


spoil: applies chiefly to the decomposition of foods: be on guard against ~ed mayonnaise.  蛋黄酱（尤指三明治填料）


decay破败衰减: 表示缓慢变化，但未必彻底，decompose分解腐烂腐败: 发生化学变化导致分解腐败，rot物质腐烂发臭: 通常表示物质发生腐烂，常表示变脏臭，putrefy腐臭: 强调腐烂带来的肮脏恶臭，spoil食品变质: 主要指食物分解变质


记忆方法: 1）首字母DDRPS想成人生怕等待<==腐坏                  如汉乐府中: '常恐秋节至，焜黄华叶衰'

         2）腐坏的意思是毁坏性解体mean to undergo destructive dissolution.  solve解决中的SOL词根表示分开to loosen, free, release，dis词根表示离开apart，所以dissolution表示解体