putrefaction
noun
pu·tre·fac·tion
ˌpyü-trə-ˈfak-shən 
1
: the decomposition of organic matter
especially
: the typically anaerobic splitting of proteins by bacteria and fungi with the formation of foul-smelling incompletely oxidized products
2
: the state of being putrefied : corruption
Examples of putrefaction in a Sentence
clearing the refrigerator of what the previous tenant had left behind was like taking a course in the advanced putrefaction of leftovers
Recent Examples on the Web
Fifty-three industrial plants are invited to squat there, in the center of the city, and the smell of decomposition and putrefaction and acidification, a stew of sulfur, chlorine, lye, and ammonia, suffuses the air.
—
Caroline Fraser
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
When the surgeons finally opened her with a piece of broken glass, the putrefaction was as warm as life.
—Nell Zink, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Here was an artist drawn irresistibly to executions and corpses, dismemberment and putrefaction.
—airmail.news, 20 Apr. 2024
Kellogg’s thinking on constipation, that anything less than three bowel movements a day risked dangerous intestinal putrefaction, was shaped by the emerging germ theory of disease and the ascent of bacteriology as a discipline through the closing decades of the 19th century.
—Elsa Richardson, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for putrefaction
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Caroline Fraser
june 10, Literary Hub, 10 June 2025
When the surgeons finally opened her with a piece of broken glass, the putrefaction was as warm as life.
—Nell Zink, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
Here was an artist drawn irresistibly to executions and corpses, dismemberment and putrefaction.
—airmail.news, 20 Apr. 2024
Kellogg’s thinking on constipation, that anything less than three bowel movements a day risked dangerous intestinal putrefaction, was shaped by the emerging germ theory of disease and the ascent of bacteriology as a discipline through the closing decades of the 19th century.
—Elsa Richardson, TIME, 3 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for putrefaction
Cite this Entry
“Putrefaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/putrefaction. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
putrefaction
noun
pu·tre·fac·tion
ˌpyü-trə-ˈfak-shən
1
: the rotting of organic matter
2
: the state of being putrefied : corruption
Medical Definition
putrefaction
noun
pu·tre·fac·tion
ˌpyü-trə-ˈfak-shən
1
: the decomposition of organic matter
especially
: the typically anaerobic splitting of proteins by bacteria and fungi with the formation of foul-smelling incompletely oxidized products
2
: the state of being putrefied
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