1
as in to die
to stop living
12 people perished in the plane crash
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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of perish
While the original pieces perished in a fire at Rohwer after the war, the replicas remain to give evidence of this student project that developed under her supervision.
—
Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2025
Sadly, none of her citrus survived, and many of her cattle perished.
—Mandi Wright, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Did the whole book really perish in the flames?
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2025
In Mississippi, where hundreds perished as Katrina’s storm surge demolished homes overlooking the Gulf, residents and officials gathered to mark the anniversary in Gulfport.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2025
Sadly, none of her citrus survived, and many of her cattle perished.
—Mandi Wright, Freep.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Did the whole book really perish in the flames?
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2025
In Mississippi, where hundreds perished as Katrina’s storm surge demolished homes overlooking the Gulf, residents and officials gathered to mark the anniversary in Gulfport.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perish
Verb
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Kirk promised that her husband will not have died in vain and said that instead his message would only become stronger.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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Daniel Crémieux, founder of the French menswear brand Crémieux, died Friday at age 87 at his home in Aix-en-Provence, France, surrounded by his family.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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O’Steen bludgeoned Marissa Grimes, dug a shallow grave for her under his house in west Fort Worth and for 10 days lived above where police later sawed open the floor to expose Grimes’ decomposing 135-pound body, prosecutors have argued that the evidence shows.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Sep. 2025
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Two people discovered badly decomposed human remains while doing a walkthrough of a home for sale in Ohio, police told news outlets.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Kansas City Star,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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New residential property prices fell year-on-year during August in 65 out of 70 cities surveyed by the NBS, data also showed.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
15 Sep. 2025
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Penske’s complaint argues that practice isn’t a fair exchange and has caused significant financial harm, with the company’s affiliate revenue falling by more than a third (as a result of Google’s AI Overviews co-opting traffic that might have otherwise gone to Penske outlets).—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These plans disintegrated in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and resulted in the taking of 251 hostages.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
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But explaining Dyer’s motivations in the face of a disintegrating family portrayed in & Sons remains a bit of an uphill climb for Nighy.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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People are assigning themselves homework to combat brain rot and improve their attention spans.—
Daniel Wine,
CNN Money,
15 Sep. 2025
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Warm conditions produce more food for these microbes, which thrive in rotting vegetation, as is found in tropical wetlands and thawing Arctic permafrost.—
Katherine Bourzac,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Colorful spots on Cheyava Falls contain the mineral greigite, which some microbes on Earth excrete, and vivianite, which is often found around decaying organic matter.—
David W. Brown,
New Yorker,
13 Sep. 2025
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The rest resides for a time in lumber, which in the case of redwood is mostly used for picnic tables, fences and decks that all too soon decay and release the remaining carbon.—
John P. O’Brien,
Mercury News,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perish. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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