as in dying
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
1
as in falling
to stop living
12 people perished in the plane crash
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decaying
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 perishing
Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
Those who didn’t die onboard eventually tried to walk to across the frozen waters to mainland Canada, perishing on their journey.
—Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 10 Feb. 2026
The goo stops them from perishing, and the two embrace in a hug.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 26 Dec. 2025
Many researchers also hypothesize that aviation trailblazer Earhart did not crash her plane at sea, but instead landed and was stranded on Nikumaroro Island, later perishing there.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 10 Dec. 2025
Bohlin said that the Swedish Board of Agriculture would procure emergency stockpiling of grain in northern Sweden, which would be circulated so as not to disrupt market mechanisms and to avoid stocks perishing.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 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
Verb
Celebrate steady financial progress rather than perishing in pursuit of perfection.
—Tarot.com, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2026
Those who didn’t die onboard eventually tried to walk to across the frozen waters to mainland Canada, perishing on their journey.
—Katherine McLaughlin, Architectural Digest, 10 Feb. 2026
The goo stops them from perishing, and the two embrace in a hug.
—Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 26 Dec. 2025
Many researchers also hypothesize that aviation trailblazer Earhart did not crash her plane at sea, but instead landed and was stranded on Nikumaroro Island, later perishing there.
—Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 10 Dec. 2025
Bohlin said that the Swedish Board of Agriculture would procure emergency stockpiling of grain in northern Sweden, which would be circulated so as not to disrupt market mechanisms and to avoid stocks perishing.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perishing
Noun
-
The movie features the Texan actor as the real-life rodeo cowboy dying of AIDS who brought experimental drugs from across the border to fellow patients in desperate need of hope.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
-
The candlelit walk down the aisle…I’m dying!—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Last week, the Washington State Department of Health halted the recreational and commercial harvest of clams, oysters and mussels in Drayton Harbor after receiving multiple reports of people falling ill after consuming raw shellfish from the area.—
Jasmine Mendez
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2026
-
In the meantime, racecourse attendances remain below pre-pandemic levels and the industry’s costs are rising, while betting revenue is falling.—
Ian King,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
That lurid fable was followed by 2023’s Pictures of Ghosts, an impressionistic documentary that told the parallel stories of Mendonça Filho’s life in movies and Recife’s decaying cinemas.—
Michael Snyder,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The series doesn’t shyaway from the gory intricacies of death, including decaying cadavers and the detailed autopsies Kay performs.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Mumma, 44, is charged with tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Gratton, a 34-year-old transgender woman from Denver who disappeared in April and was found dead in a Lakewood alley in June.—
The Denver Post,
Denver Post,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Readers send Miss Manners not only their table and party questions, but those involving the more complicated aspects of life - romance, work, family relationships, child-rearing, death - as well as philosophical and moral dilemmas.—
Judith Martin,
Dallas Morning News,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
When Corms Don't Sprout If your corms haven’t sprouted after two weeks, there could be several reasons for this, such as rotting due to overwatering, insufficient warmth and humidity, or the corms being too dry.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
13 Mar. 2026
-
But different types of seeds have different germination and growth rates (aka ‘days to harvest’), and timing this against your area’s last frost date is your secret weapon against leggy tomato seedlings that still can’t go outside, or pea seeds rotting in cold, wet soil.—
Marianne Willburn,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Watched behind his closed eyelids the eruption of strange visual forms, shapes of light blooming and disintegrating, blue green and yellow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Mar. 2026
-
Is there also a whiff of nostalgia in the slow movement, for a world disintegrating in brutality?—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Fairway City Administrator Nathan Nogelmeier on Monday said that the potential demise of the project was news to him.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
10 Mar. 2026
-
SpaceX conducted five Starship flight tests in 2025, the first three of which ended in disaster when the vehicle met a premature fiery demise before completing many key objectives.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Inside the bag was a woman’s partially skeletonized decomposing torso, with the head, arms and legs missing.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Weed seeds land in decomposing mulch and find a foothold.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Perishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perishing. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
