as in decomposition
the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances
in the far corner of the walk-in refrigerator was a crate of cucumbers in an advanced stage of putrescence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 putrescence
In 19th-century cities, when waste disposal was a private matter and not yet a public responsibility, households lived close to their own putrescence.
—
Curbed, 12 Aug. 2022
There was no evidence to suggest the existence of four receptor classes, rather than three, or five, or ten; nor was there any serious reason to believe that acidity and goatiness—but not, say, florality or putrescence—were fundamentals of odor.
—Scott Sayare, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021
In various states of putrescence—worms wriggling, entrails dangling—cadavers rise from their graves to join the Dance of Death.
—Felipe Fernández-Armesto, WSJ, 24 Apr. 2020
At the opposite end of spring's floral awakening lingers the rot of deciduous fall: the putrescence of stranded, spent salmon; the sweet stench of walrus or whale melting on Nome's driftwood beaches.
—Michael Engelhard, Alaska Dispatch News, 1 July 2017
Curbed, 12 Aug. 2022
There was no evidence to suggest the existence of four receptor classes, rather than three, or five, or ten; nor was there any serious reason to believe that acidity and goatiness—but not, say, florality or putrescence—were fundamentals of odor.
—Scott Sayare, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021
In various states of putrescence—worms wriggling, entrails dangling—cadavers rise from their graves to join the Dance of Death.
—Felipe Fernández-Armesto, WSJ, 24 Apr. 2020
At the opposite end of spring's floral awakening lingers the rot of deciduous fall: the putrescence of stranded, spent salmon; the sweet stench of walrus or whale melting on Nome's driftwood beaches.
—Michael Engelhard, Alaska Dispatch News, 1 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrescence
Noun
-
Based on the level of decomposition, officials estimated she had been dumped from the overpass at least a month earlier, according to the release.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Before storing the bodies in the crawl space, Gacy used lime to hasten the bodies' decomposition.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Despite years of legal battles over the relocations, more than 150,000 bodies were exhumed from the 1920s to the early 1940s for the trip to Colma, each in various stages of decay.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Why didn’t evolution produce a more dependable version of the human body, less prone to malfunction and decay?—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Putrescence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrescence. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share