PERISH Synonyms: 98 Similar and Opposite Words

perish

verb

ˈper-ish

Definition of perish

as in to die

to stop living 12 people perished in the plane crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to disintegrate

chiefly British to go through decomposition after being left out in the summer heat, the milk perished and had to be thrown out

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of perish One person was killed, and several animals perished in a house fire in Commerce City on Tuesday. — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026 Of the 2,977 people who perished on 9/11, 2,753 were lost in the collapse of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center after two hijacked jetliners smashed into them. — Mike Kelly, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026 Four women and an infant are among the victims who perished, the organization confirmed to The Independent. — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026 Pete Davidson, whose firefighter father Scott Davidson perished in the attacks, is among the participants, as is Jon Stewart, Matthew Broderick and Billy Crystal. — Erin Lassner, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for perish

Recent Examples of Synonyms for perish

Verb

About a quarter of the animals died either upon arrival or within days after, Jaros said.

— John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
Her dying words to her brother Ned are her wish that her son be free to choose his own path.

— Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of die

Verb

Scott’s face, in this shot, is a whole novel, disintegrating into tears before being shored up again, eventually rearranged into something resembling a welcoming smile that teeters on the edge of collapse.

— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026
But slack defending allowed Chelsea’s individual quality to shine and as the match wore on, United’s confidence disintegrated.

— Cerys Jones, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of disintegrate

Verb

McGraw said their policy is to allow carcasses to decompose naturally, which is similar to rules followed by the Forest Preserves of Cook County, Cotter said.

— Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2026
Most of the remains were severely decomposed, but investigators believed Montgomery had been dead for less than a day when he was found.

— ABC News, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of decompose

Verb

The New Jersey native succumbed to organ failure that led to cardiac arrest, the New York Times reported Friday.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
The inherent challenge in making films dealing with progressive illness is not succumbing to an inescapably formulaic structure that can’t help but go with the territory.

— Michael Rechtshaffen, HollywoodReporter, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of succumb

Verb

The blaze left more than 89 million pounds of rotting food, triggering over 4,900 odor complaints and 38 violation notices as Lineage missed the city’s 45-day cleanup deadline despite a $150-million effort.

— Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
Trim away any soft or rotting roots with a clean, sharp knife.

— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2026