1
as in to die
to stop living
12 people perished in the plane crash
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to decompose
chiefly British
to go through decomposition
after being left out in the summer heat, the milk perished and had to be thrown out
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of perish
Their mother, Georgina, suffered complications giving birth and perished a week afterward.
—
Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 4 May 2025
Dozens of children tragically perish each year in cars that quickly heat up when left in the hot sun, even if the temperatures don't feel hot out.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
Published May 1, 1987 The new $240 million Sunshine Skyway bridge opened Thursday with a procession of cars, 2,000 yellow balloons and a memorial bouquet of 35 white carnations, one for each traveler who perished in the 1980 disaster.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
All the fish perished, according to Meredith Hendricks, executive director of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, a nonprofit organization that owns and manages the preserve.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Alexandra Jacobs, New York Times, 4 May 2025
Dozens of children tragically perish each year in cars that quickly heat up when left in the hot sun, even if the temperatures don't feel hot out.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
Published May 1, 1987 The new $240 million Sunshine Skyway bridge opened Thursday with a procession of cars, 2,000 yellow balloons and a memorial bouquet of 35 white carnations, one for each traveler who perished in the 1980 disaster.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
All the fish perished, according to Meredith Hendricks, executive director of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, a nonprofit organization that owns and manages the preserve.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for perish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for perish
Verb
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Anyone unfamiliar with the basic combat rhythm of blocking, dodging, and expended precious stamina for an attack will die repeatedly even from basic groups of foes.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2025
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About 200 of those died in crashes that occurred on Chicago expressways, records show.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2025
Verb
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This multi-agent architecture enables organizations to decompose complex business processes into manageable, specialized components.—
Janakiram MSV,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
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Las Vegas Metro Police discovered the body of Matthew Kelemen, 56, decomposing and wrapped in a tarp inside a locked plastic bin near Fremont Street on May 20 after responding to reports of a foul odor, the department wrote in a press release.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
27 May 2025
Verb
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Heavy rain is falling across the Kansas City area, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for parts of the metro.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
3 June 2025
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In May 2022 — three years ago — Caltrans estimated that the project would cost $433 million, meaning that in addition to falling behind schedule, the cost has gone up by about $96 million in that time.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Mohammadi works with materials that disintegrate, for instance halva, soap, letting their ephemerality echo the fragility of memory.—
Nargess Banks,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
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Toward the end of the movie, Bob’s house of shame disintegrates.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
Verb
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The flesh was rotting off his feet, and his tendons were exposed from frostbite.—
Ginny Monk,
Hartford Courant,
26 May 2025
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Also, check for hollows in trunks that may mean the interior portion is rotting.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 May 2025
Verb
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However, when viruses were exposed to sunlight, many of them did not survive as long, decaying in under 24 hours.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
13 Mar. 2025
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The result was not only environmental catastrophe but license for unchecked consumption of cheap plastic goods that can take a few minutes to use but hundreds of years to decay.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/perish. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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