perished 1 of 2

adjective

as in departed

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perished

2 of 2

verb

past tense of perish
1
as in died
to stop living 12 people perished in the plane crash

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disintegrated
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

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 perished
Verb
Four women and an infant are among the victims who perished, the organization confirmed to The Independent. — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026 More than 1,100 people perished when a huge glacier and rock landslide high in the Himalayas triggered fast-moving floodwaters that struck Nepal and China on the morning of August 26. — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 2 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 Airport officials had earlier said one employee had perished, with six workers infected. — CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 Aphrodite Tsairis, whose daughter, Alexia, perished on Flight 103, had planned to travel to Washington for the start of the trial, along with other family members of victims. — ABC News, 25 Aug. 2026 Before the service began, a worshiper read aloud the names of some 200 parishioners who perished. — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 The hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan landed on Nikumaroro and later perished there has gained steam in recent years. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026 At least 5,000 people perished, most of them in La Guaira state, a strip of cities and slums crammed between the coastal cordillera and the Caribbean Sea, half an hour from Caracas. — Rafael Osío Cabrices, Time, 20 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perished
  1. departed
  2. died
  3. disintegrated
  4. lost
  5. fell
  6. rotted
  7. extinct
  8. decomposed
Adjective
  • Judaism approaches these moments with deep sensitivity, offering guidance not to judge or criticize, but to bring dignity, comfort, and peace—to the soul of the departed and to those left behind.
    — Rabbi Moishe Kievman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Definition of departed
Verb
  • On September 9, the Prince of Wales will represent the British royal family at the funeral of King Harald V of Norway, who died at 89 years old on August 28.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Dotson was taken to a hospital and died about nine hours after he was shot.
    — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of died
Verb
  • After a 2025 season in which their offensive line disintegrated before their eyes, the Chargers had every reason to believe this would be a bounce-back year.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The house was the only one that was still standing; all the others have disintegrated into abstract shapes.
    — Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of disintegrated
Adjective
  • By her mid 20s Meriwether was pitching an ahead-of-its-time TV series called Sluts—a kind of lost precursor to Girls—and the screenplay Fuckbuddies, which became the romantic comedy No Strings Attached.
    — Joy Press, Vanity Fair, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Soto returning from an injury late in a lost season could help set a tone for next year.
    — Will Sammon, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of lost
Verb
  • Rincker, a German immigrant, was known for casting the bell that hung from the first Cook County Courthouse, which was felled by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Frightened that she may be plagued by the same mental illness that felled her mom, Gemma stubbornly refuses to believe anything is wrong.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of fell
Verb
  • So much of it has degraded—tapes rotted to spooky fuzz, videos with shaggy images and too‑white faces.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026
  • By this point the food in her fridge rotted and her basement flooded.
    — Rebecca Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of rotted
Adjective
  • By the ’50s, the accessory that launched a riot was virtually extinct.
    — Michele Metych Britannica Editors Sep. 4, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Now the smell has gone, unforgotten by elderly noses but irretrievably extinct.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of extinct
Verb
  • The body itself was badly decomposed after spending an unknown amount of time exposed to the elements, with animals, bugs and rain, plus 50 years in storage.
    — Taylor Romine, CNN Money, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Determining the causes of death was complicated by how decomposed the bodies were, the medical examiner’s office said.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of decomposed

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perished
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Cite this Entry

“Perished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perished. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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