as in decomposing
to go through decomposition
we traced the bad smell to a dead skunk putrefying under the house
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in rotting
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of putrefying
Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Because lose-lose situations are so endemic to the genre, a hint of relief can sometimes accompany the prospect of surrender to the putrefying mob.
—Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrefying
Verb
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Another legend explains how in the distant past, the nefarious Lake Nyos was formed from the decomposing body of a Kom chief whose people had been tricked and murdered by the Bamessi tribe.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
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Thatch is made up of decomposing grass stems and roots on the soil surface.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Churches, libraries, and houses stand splintered and rotting next to posh tourist resorts, the aftermath of 2017’s Hurricane Maria.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
26 Oct. 2025
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Warm soil can interfere with tuber growth and increase the likelihood of your potatoes rotting in the ground.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This putrescent combination of sky-high home prices, rising mortgage rates and stifling consumer inflation have forced all but the wealthiest or most determined buyers out of a new home.—
Q.ai - Powering a Personal Wealth Movement,
Forbes,
17 Aug. 2022
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The most common are oils (cinnamon, clove, thyme, garlic, etc.), putrescent whole egg solids, dried blood, etc.—
Kym Pokorny,
OregonLive.com,
17 Apr. 2018
Verb
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What Pasolini wants is to turn this decaying palazzo into the Château de Silling, the house in which Sade’s libertines conduct their atrocious experiments.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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The decaying carcasses would have been covered by a film of bacteria, which can electrostatically attract clay found in the surrounding sediment.—
Amanda Schupak,
CNN Money,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Inspectors found several moldy tomatoes and red peppers at the produce area.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
17 Oct. 2025
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It’s made with durable resin and has built-in ventilation to keep moisture from building up, so your backyard essentials don’t get moldy.—
Rylee Johnston,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This difference sounds small, but preventing a few tenths of a degree of warming could keep polar ice caps from completely disintegrating, coral reefs from collapsing and other tipping points from triggering.—
Syris Valentine,
Scientific American,
16 Oct. 2025
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As gifts go, this one comes much belated—and with a high risk of disintegrating even as it is being unwrapped.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The renovation plans call for replacing the sign’s corroded letters and converting the lighting to an LED system.—
Barbara Henry,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Oct. 2025
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Those kept in the more acidic water were significantly more corroded, and had far more cracks and holes, especially at the root and tooth base.—
Lauren Leffer,
Popular Science,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Putrefying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrefying. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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