1
as in to die
to stop living
12 people perished in the plane crash
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2
as in to decompose
chiefly British
to go through decomposition
after being left out in the summer heat, the milk perished and had to be thrown out
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of perish
David Lira, 65, of Pasadena admitted Thursday to one count of contempt of court for defying a Chicago judge’s order concerning the distribution of settlement funds to clients whose relatives had perished in a 2018 Indonesian plane crash.
—
Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
For salespeople, especially, the rule is adapt or perish.
—Levi King, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
The idea was about what the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would look like if all but one perished.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The last time fewer people perished was in 2022, when just three died.
—Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
For salespeople, especially, the rule is adapt or perish.
—Levi King, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
The idea was about what the world of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would look like if all but one perished.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 June 2025
The last time fewer people perished was in 2022, when just three died.
—Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 4 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perish
Verb
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Roberts died at 90 years old in her sleep from natural causes in April 2016.—
Rachel Flynn,
People.com,
21 June 2025
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At some point during our new Gilded Age, as the United States and the world have become more unequal, did Prince Charming die?—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
21 June 2025
Verb
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Read Next National Son arrested two decades after dad found decomposing in NH home, officials say June 18, 2025 12:40 PM Read Next National 75-year-old found dead during welfare check, Delaware troopers say.—
Jennifer Rodriguez,
Sacbee.com,
19 June 2025
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Then there was the time in 1986 when vandals broke into a crypt and stole the decomposing head of a woman, which was found under a car outside the grounds.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Season two saw Valerie cast in an HBO project about the sitcom writer who made her life hell in season one, earning widespread acclaim professionally even as her personal life was falling apart.—
Rick Porter,
HollywoodReporter,
27 June 2025
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Monthly spending has also fallen by almost $20 year-over-year.—
Jon Kirchner,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Tropical Storm Barry disintegrated after striking Mexico early Monday morning while the National Hurricane Center continued to forecast the season’s next tropical depression or storm could form off the coast of Florida later this week.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 June 2025
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Snorkelers and divers in Palm Beach County were recently stunned by a disturbing sight: starfish, also known as sea stars, with missing limbs, open wounds and bodies disintegrating on the ocean floor.—
Sonia Osorio,
Miami Herald,
30 June 2025
Verb
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The oversized chair duo is made from environmentally friendly materials that are weather-resistant and won’t crack, fade, peel, or rot.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
20 June 2025
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The world may have left England to rot (a subplot involving a foreign soldier implies that other nations have taken an active interest in helping that process along), but any society that allows an entire country to become an open-air graveyard is sick with a terrible virus of its own.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
18 June 2025
Verb
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However, when viruses were exposed to sunlight, many of them did not survive as long, decaying in under 24 hours.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
13 Mar. 2025
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The result was not only environmental catastrophe but license for unchecked consumption of cheap plastic goods that can take a few minutes to use but hundreds of years to decay.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perish. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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