perished; perishing; perishes
1
: to become destroyed or ruined : cease to exist
recollection of a past already long since perished—
Philip Sherrard
Philip Sherrardguard against your mistakes or your attempts (perish the thought) to cheat—C. B. Davis
C. B. Davis2
chiefly British
: deteriorate, spoil
Synonyms
Examples of perish in a Sentence
Two people perished in the fire.
The sailors perished at sea.
The civilization perished after 500 years.
Many ancient languages have perished over time.
The rubber will perish with age.
Recent Examples on the Web
Hundreds of engineers, workers and divers have rushed to the scene of what some say could be the most expensive disaster in maritime history, in which six people are presumed to have perished.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
The country which perishes is Denmark in a not-too-distant future.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
But rarely did a heat wave cause thousands in India to perish or push waters off the coast of Florida to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing biologists to scoop endangered corals out of the ocean and rush them into labs.
—Lydia Millet, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
More than 50 members of my family, including my grandparents and my youngest uncle, perished at the hands of the Nazis.
—Richard Trank, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
In Colombia, approximately 3,000 hives, each containing around 50,000 bees, have been perishing annually.
—Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
This is not anymore about the seven men and women of World Central Kitchen that perished on this unfortunate event.
—ABC News, 7 Apr. 2024
There is a perception in some Black communities that when the U.S. goes to war, Black people will be more likely to perish.
—Naima Green-Riley, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2024
Hundreds of years later, Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist who famously perished at the 79 C.E. eruption of Vesuvius, wrote in his Natural History of the Etrurians’ use of milifolium (or yarrow), in treating wounds and toothaches.
—Elizabeth Heath, Discover Magazine, 17 Feb. 2024
Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 15 Apr. 2024
The country which perishes is Denmark in a not-too-distant future.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
But rarely did a heat wave cause thousands in India to perish or push waters off the coast of Florida to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing biologists to scoop endangered corals out of the ocean and rush them into labs.
—Lydia Millet, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024
More than 50 members of my family, including my grandparents and my youngest uncle, perished at the hands of the Nazis.
—Richard Trank, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024
In Colombia, approximately 3,000 hives, each containing around 50,000 bees, have been perishing annually.
—Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
This is not anymore about the seven men and women of World Central Kitchen that perished on this unfortunate event.
—ABC News, 7 Apr. 2024
There is a perception in some Black communities that when the U.S. goes to war, Black people will be more likely to perish.
—Naima Green-Riley, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2024
Hundreds of years later, Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist who famously perished at the 79 C.E. eruption of Vesuvius, wrote in his Natural History of the Etrurians’ use of milifolium (or yarrow), in treating wounds and toothaches.
—Elizabeth Heath, Discover Magazine, 17 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near perish
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perish. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perish
verb
per·ish
ˈper-ish 
: to pass away completely : become destroyed
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