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

Examples 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
  • The whales were left to decompose naturally on land.
    Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024
  • Cover the Pile Compost that is decomposing properly will heat up in the middle.
    Lauren David, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Better Homes & Gardens recommends getting rid of any food products that may have begun rotting, while also pouring a diluted mix of bleach and water down the drain in order to clear out any gnats hanging around there.
    Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2024
  • And Oz, who told Eve that Sofia was to be pitied and avoided, helped cover it up so Carmine could keep killing women — leaving Sofia to rot in Arkham.
    Andy Andersen, Vulture, 27 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • What doesn’t decay this winter can be mulched up next spring.
    Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Sep. 2022
  • In particular, many theorists have wondered how the great complexity of life can be reconciled with the laws of thermodynamics that suggest that all systems must inevitably decay to a state of greatest disorder.
    The Physics arXiv Blog, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2022
Verb
  • Wanting to prove that the substance was a byproduct of disintegrating chloramines, Wahman looked for it in drinking water systems across the US that used the chemical and compared it with systems in Switzerland that didn’t.
    Jen Christensen, CNN, 21 Nov. 2024
  • The debris – space rocks known as meteoroids – collides with Earth's atmosphere at high speed and disintegrates, creating fiery and colorful streaks in the sky, according to NASA.
    Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near putrefy

Cite this Entry

“Putrefy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrefy. Accessed 6 Dec. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on putrefy

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