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 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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of perish
Thousands of outstanding members of the intelligentsia had perished in Stalin’s prisons and camps, but lifelines could nonetheless be established between those who came before and those who came after.
—
Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
The agony is still fresh for Katie and Clarke Baker, whose 8-year-old daughter Mary Grace perished in the flooding.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
James, 57, perished in the crash along with his wife Melody Carole Wilson and her daughter Meryl.
—Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
The boys didn't always survive their adventures, with one perishing from a snake bite and another drowning in a Bolivian flood.
—ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Benjamin Nathans
september 24, Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
The agony is still fresh for Katie and Clarke Baker, whose 8-year-old daughter Mary Grace perished in the flooding.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
James, 57, perished in the crash along with his wife Melody Carole Wilson and her daughter Meryl.
—Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025
The boys didn't always survive their adventures, with one perishing from a snake bite and another drowning in a Bolivian flood.
—ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perish
Verb
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About 20 living hostages remain captive in desperate conditions, Israeli officials say, and about 25 more are believed to have died, but their bodies have not been returned to their families.—
Susan Page,
USA Today,
5 Oct. 2025
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Craig Hayden, a 77-year-old church member, died trying to help another member of the church, according to a GoFundMe his daughter-in-law posted.—
Georgea Kovanis,
Freep.com,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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These clippings decompose rapidly, enhancing soil quality and providing nutrients for your turf grass.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Oct. 2025
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Water molecules in the electrolyte tend to decompose, and zinc deposits unevenly, forming dendrites that can cause short circuits.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Zay Flowers, who finished with a receiving line of 5-for-72, fell a yard short of a long TD on a 56-yard gain.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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City administrator echoes points other municipalities have stated Brown presented a series of slides and data pieces that, among other facts, showed the city has lagged further behind in terms of property revenue increases falling short of 3% inflation on existing services on average.—
Jim Riccioli,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When breaking down what the heck happened over the last four months, the first item on the list is the way New York’s starting rotation disintegrated.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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Her life starts to disintegrate as she becomes embroiled in the world of The Worrall Family.—
Nancy Tartaglione,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In most parts of the country, tender summer bulbs will either freeze or rot in the ground during winter.—
Erica Browne Grivas,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Oct. 2025
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Garbage, rotting food with bugs and clothing stacked close to the ceiling were also seen in most areas of the house.—
Matthew Cupelli,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For another, there’s the DESI data, our best large-scale structure data at present, which seems to slightly favor the presence of evolving (and, in particular, decaying or weakening) dark energy.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
3 Oct. 2025
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The new specimen is highly significant because its near-perfect state preserved the soft tissues, which usually decay over time.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perish. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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