as in rotten
having undergone organic breakdown
we had to throw out the putrefied tomatoes that had been sitting on the counter all week
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in decomposed
to go through decomposition
we traced the bad smell to a dead skunk putrefying under the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of putrefied
Jay Kakade
december 31, New Atlas, 31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Since some Indigenous tribes from the Arctic and subarctic are known to eat maggots from putrefied meat, the researchers considered maggots a potential factor driving those isotope spikes.
—Jay Kakade
december 31, New Atlas, 31 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrefied
Adjective
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But it’s most often used in a more contemporary story as an ancestral home of an ancient, perhaps even rotten Establishment.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
-
False teeth had been used since Colonial years, with various attempts to replace rotten teeth that had been extracted to avoid illness.—
Scott Lafee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The detail was that Rivas’ body was not only badly decomposed when it was found – it had been dismembered and separated into two bags before being placed in the trunk of the Tesla.—
Allison Gordon,
CNN Money,
12 Mar. 2026
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In both cases, the remains were decomposed, and appeared that they may have been moved around multiple locations before being discovered, authorities said.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Some are sandy; others are rich in organic matter formed from centuries of decayed plants.—
Dinesh Phuyal,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Of the 20 dead cats, eight were too decayed for a necropsy exam, which determines the cause of death of a dead animal and any associated diseases or injuries.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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How to Plant Bare Root Roses Carefully inspect the roots and cut off any that are broken, cracked, rotted, or show signs of insect damage.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
26 Feb. 2026
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Dead fruit rotted on withered evergreens, remnants of a record-cold February.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That said, ensuring community pets are thoroughly taken care of—perhaps even spoiled— is a cause many feel called to support.—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
15 Mar. 2026
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The spousal death brings Madison Avenue queen Stacy out of New York City with her urban-spoiled daughters and granddaughters.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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There was more funding for higher education, less restrictive laws, lower voting ages, better reproductive rights for women and easier divorces, while icons of popular culture gained far greater prominence and influence as stuffy hierarchies disintegrated.—
Jason Burke,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
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Trump is now the symbol, but the movement started in 1992, the year the Soviet Union disintegrated, Gone was the communist menace.—
Letters to the Editor,
Hartford Courant,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Putrefied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrefied. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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