decayó

Decayó is the third-person singular form in the pretérito indefinido (preterite) of the Spanish verb decaer, meaning to decline, deteriorate, or fall away. It denotes a completed action in the past and is commonly used to describe a drop in strength, quality, interest, or vitality. The verb decaer is intransitive and is often used with abstract nouns such as la moral, el ánimo, la economía, or la población.

Usage and examples illustrate how decayó functions in narrative or descriptive text. For instance: "La población decayó tras la crisis" or "El interés decayó después de la mala noticia." The pretérito indefinido forms are: decaí, decaíste, decayó, decaímos, decaísteis, decayeron. The imperfect form is decaía, decaías, decaía, decaíamos, decaíais, decaían. The past participle is decaído and the gerund is decayendo.

Origin and related terms: decaer derives from a Spanish development within the Romance languages, conveying the sense of gradually losing strength, vigor, or quality. Related terms include decaimiento (state of decline), decaído (depressed or weakened), and other synonyms such as disminuir, deteriorar, or debilitar.

In usage, decayó typically appears in historical narratives, reports, or literary texts to indicate a clear past decline. It is contrasted with tenses that describe ongoing or general states, such as decaer in the present or imperfect, depending on the intended temporal framing.