as in decomposing
to go through decomposition
we traced the bad smell to a dead skunk putrefying under the house
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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So when a redwood falls and begins decomposing, its massive trunk, branches, and bark break down over many, many years.—
Greg Sullivan,
AFAR Media,
15 Sep. 2025
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O’Steen bludgeoned Marissa Grimes, dug a shallow grave for her under his house in west Fort Worth and for 10 days lived above where police later sawed open the floor to expose Grimes’ decomposing 135-pound body, prosecutors have argued that the evidence shows.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Their investigation leads them to the rotting corpse of their old neighbor Patty Metzger (a great name for a character whose moniker will hang over the rest of the film), who disappeared years ago.—
Sam Bodrojan,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
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The vehicle was impounded last week after being abandoned in the Hollywood Hills, where neighbors complained of a rotting smell.—
Andrew Flanagan,
Variety,
10 Sep. 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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On Earth, vivianite is frequently found in peat bogs and around decaying organic matter—another item on the microbes’ menu.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
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On Earth, Vivianite is found in sediments, peat bogs and around decaying organic matter, while some forms of microbial life can produce greigite.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The facility reportedly did not have a clock, and the mattresses were moldy.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
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Spray the moldy areas with your solution and allow the mixture to sit for at least 20 minutes to an hour.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But explaining Dyer’s motivations in the face of a disintegrating family portrayed in & Sons remains a bit of an uphill climb for Nighy.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
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As the Snowball catastrophically collapsed once more, superhot oceans of meltwater, just offshore from rapidly disintegrating mile-thick ice sheets, drove some of the wildest weather in Earth history.—
Peter Brannen
August 28,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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 18 Sep. 2025.
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