Definition of putrefactionnext
as in decomposition
the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances clearing the refrigerator of what the previous tenant had left behind was like taking a course in the advanced putrefaction of leftovers

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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 putrefaction Likely only dead individuals, floating as gases formed by putrefaction accumulated in body cavities, entered the lagoon. David Bressan, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025 When the surgeons finally opened her with a piece of broken glass, the putrefaction was as warm as life. Nell Zink, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025 Here was an artist drawn irresistibly to executions and corpses, dismemberment and putrefaction. airmail.news, 20 Apr. 2024 Not the smell of putrefaction, though the novel is littered with rotting corpses. Nathaniel Rich, The New York Review of Books, 30 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for putrefaction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrefaction
Noun
  • Their decomposition attributed much of the divergence to how raters measure the same underlying issue rather than merely to differences in scope or weighting.
    Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
  • But decomposition affects how tissues look and can complicate toxicology, especially alcohol findings, because alcohol can appear as a byproduct of decomposition, according to Banerjee.
    Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
Noun
  • Thek had a long-standing fascination with bodies, those repositories of hope and decay, but neither show focusses much on that.
    Hilton Als, New Yorker, 17 July 2026
  • Without a triggering event, the decay stays visible only to the people doing the extra work.
    Kerry Huang, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Cite this Entry

“Putrefaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrefaction. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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