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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
Not just the 2,977 deaths of innocent, often brave people — the workers trapped in the towers, the first responders who perished in an attempt to rescue them, the passengers aboard United Flight 93 who fought back against the hijackers. — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Sep. 2026 Timothy Stackpole, who perished while trying to rescue others at the World Trade Center, to stand and accept applause from the crowd. — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026 Two horses, as well as ducks and chickens, perished in the fire. — 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 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 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
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
  • That Diamond song, a staple anthem at sporting events, is what vice-captain Mel Reid said — or tried to say with a lost voice — helped find Europe a way out of their low mood on Saturday evening.
    — Caoimhe O'Neill, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Besides several days of lost revenue, the business now faces additional costs to beef up its security.
    — Charles Keeshan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of lost
Verb
  • The goal came after Furuhashi got loose on a breakaway up the middle of the pitch, only to be felled by New England’s Will Sands in the center of the box, leaving referee Drew Fischer with an easy penalty call.
    — Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Mosaic terrazzo floors with a palm motif are nods to both Tiberius’s villas here and the Ethiopian palm that once stood like an icon outside the hotel, which was felled by a storm in the 1960s.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 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
  • As a paleontologist, Georgalis studies modern snakes to understand the fragmented fossil remains of ancient extinct ones.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Other travel advisors agree that summer travel is not going extinct, but have indeed noticed shifts in terms of where—and when—people are going.
    — Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 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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perishable
perished
perishes
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Cite this Entry

“Perished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perished. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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