Synonym Chooser

How is the word putrefy different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of putrefy are decay, decompose, rot, and spoil. While all these words mean "to undergo destructive dissolution," putrefy implies the rotting of animal matter and offensiveness to sight and smell.

corpses putrefying on the battlefield

When might decay be a better fit than putrefy?

In some situations, the words decay and putrefy are roughly equivalent. However, decay implies a slow change from a state of soundness or perfection.

a decaying mansion

When would decompose be a good substitute for putrefy?

Although the words decompose and putrefy have much in common, decompose stresses a breaking down by chemical change and when applied to organic matter a corruption.

the strong odor of decomposing vegetation

How do rot and decompose relate to one another, in the sense of putrefy?

Rot is a close synonym of decompose and often connotes foulness.

fruit was left to rot in warehouses

Where would spoil be a reasonable alternative to putrefy?

The meanings of spoil and putrefy largely overlap; however, spoil applies chiefly to the decomposition of foods.

keep the ham from spoiling

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 putrefy But those explicit depictions underscore the many points McCartney and McLennan are trying to make about how misogyny putrefies society. Alexis Gunderson, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2024 It was designed to hold 20 bodies but on this day held 28 — the putrefied remains testifying to two dozen shattered dreams of reaching the United States. Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 Mules killed in the assault putrefied and attracted swarms of maggots. Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2024 Just as fruit and meats left untouched began to rot and putrefy, dregs and undigested material inside the body turned poisonous if not expelled. Meg Leja, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Nov. 2023 Just as fruit and meats left untouched began to rot and putrefy, so did dregs and undigested material inside the body turn poisonous if not expelled. Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2023 Many recipes that survive from antiquity call for allowing fish to putrefy in open vats under the Mediterranean sun for up to three months. Taras Grescoe, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2021 But some of the ailments Romans suffered boggle the mind—vicious fevers, wasting diseases and worms living in putrefying wounds that refused to heal. Edward Watts, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2020 But this, Marcus stresses, only causes our emotions to putrefy and fester. Barrett Swanson, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrefy
Verb
  • Read Next National Son arrested two decades after dad found decomposing in NH home, officials say June 18, 2025 12:40 PM Read Next National 75-year-old found dead during welfare check, Delaware troopers say.
    Jennifer Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2025
  • Then there was the time in 1986 when vandals broke into a crypt and stole the decomposing head of a woman, which was found under a car outside the grounds.
    Pat Saperstein, Variety, 13 June 2025
Verb
  • Immigration enforcement operations on farms have left crops rotting and farm operations disrupted in major agricultural states including California, Texas, and Pennsylvania.
    Billal Rahman Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025
  • Avoid sodding shady spots during the rainy season to prevent decline due to rot problems.
    Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 June 2025
Verb
  • However, when viruses were exposed to sunlight, many of them did not survive as long, decaying in under 24 hours.
    Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The result was not only environmental catastrophe but license for unchecked consumption of cheap plastic goods that can take a few minutes to use but hundreds of years to decay.
    Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Tropical Storm Barry disintegrated after striking Mexico early Monday morning while the National Hurricane Center continued to forecast the season’s next tropical depression or storm could form off the coast of Florida later this week.
    Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 June 2025
  • Snorkelers and divers in Palm Beach County were recently stunned by a disturbing sight: starfish, also known as sea stars, with missing limbs, open wounds and bodies disintegrating on the ocean floor.
    Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 30 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Putrefy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrefy. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

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