1
as in to die
to stop living
12 people perished in the plane crash
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to disintegrate
chiefly British
to go through decomposition
after being left out in the summer heat, the milk perished and had to be thrown out
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of perish
Five others, including Argentine YouTube star Gaspi, 23, also perished in the accident.
—
Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
The city must remember that those who perished yearned to be seen and included.
—Rev. José Rodriguez, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026
The hip denizens of LA's east side would surely perish without it.
—Alanna Bennett, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 June 2026
His mother made little or no reference to the Austrian relatives who had been snatched from Vienna’s glamorous cultural swirl and sent off to perish in the Nazi camps.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for perish
Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
The city must remember that those who perished yearned to be seen and included.
—Rev. José Rodriguez, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 June 2026
The hip denizens of LA's east side would surely perish without it.
—Alanna Bennett, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 June 2026
His mother made little or no reference to the Austrian relatives who had been snatched from Vienna’s glamorous cultural swirl and sent off to perish in the Nazi camps.
—Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for perish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perish
Verb
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Last year, around 13,000 of a population of 17,000 elephant seal pups died there in just a few months after being exposed.—
Brie Stimson,
FOXNews.com,
21 June 2026
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Daveigh, best known for playing Samara Morgan in The Ring and voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch, died at 35, PEOPLE confirmed on Wednesday, June 17.—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
21 June 2026
Verb
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The debris – space rocks known as meteoroids – collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky, according to NASA.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
17 June 2026
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The meteor — which is thought to be a small chunk of a much larger asteroid — was probably too small and traveled too fast to survive atmospheric entry and instead disintegrated entirely, leaving no parts of it to fall to the ground in the form of meteorites.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
16 June 2026
Verb
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Scheffler, who fell nine shots behind with a pair of bogeys at the start, shot 32 on the back nine by chipping in from 65 feet on the 14th for the start of three straight birdies.—
Doug Ferguson,
Los Angeles Times,
21 June 2026
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Overall homicides in the United States have fallen for four consecutive years, according to FBI data analyzed by the Washington Post.—
Sara-James Ranta,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 June 2026
Verb
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How long does cardboard take to decompose in the garden?—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 June 2026
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This sets them apart from other natural mulches like straw and wood chips, which have a high carbon content and take a year or more to decompose fully.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The couple was found unresponsive and later succumbed to their injuries.—
Samantha Cookinham,
NBC news,
19 June 2026
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Suddenly, Marjane succumbing to sorrow became achingly comprehensible.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 June 2026
Verb
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Many disillusioned locals, weary after weeks of power cuts, which causes food to rot, shrugged off the reforms as too little, too late.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
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Wood can also splinter and rot over time, compromising the structural integrity of the porch.—
Perri Ormont Blumberg,
Architectural Digest,
19 June 2026
Verb
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Amy Turner LaDow, of Valparaiso, is a sixth-generation carrier of Huntington’s Disease, a condition that causes nerve cells in the brain to decay, according to the Mayo Clinic.—
Michelle L. Quinn,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2026
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On the shore of a nondescript, decaying seaside town, a boat that went missing 30 years ago suddenly reappears.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perish. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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