Word
perish
Phoneticsper·ish
US/ˈpɛɹɪʃ/
UK/pˈɛɹɪʃ/
Definitions
01to die
v. to die, especially in a sudden, violent, or accidental way.
v. to die or be destroyed, typically through violence, accident, or exposure to harsh conditions.
“Sadly, many animals perish in the forest fires every summer.”
“The historical record suggests that thousands of soldiers perished during the long retreat across the frozen plains.”
Formal · Literary
Usage
This verb is intransitive and does not take a direct object.
02to rot or decay
v. to rot or break because of age or bad conditions, especially rubber or food.
v. to suffer physical decay or lose structural integrity, commonly used in reference to organic matter or rubber.
“The rubber seals on the old windows had perished over the years.”
“If the fruit is not stored at the correct temperature, it will perish within a matter of days.”
British English
Usage
Often used to describe materials like rubber becoming brittle or food going bad.
Teaching tip
In the sense of materials decaying, this is more common in British English than American English.
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“More than 36,000 people perished, the majority in devastating tsunamis that raced outward from the colossal explosion.” “Twenty-seven crew members perished, and the wreck vanished until it was discovered in 2016, nearly 100 years later, by Danish diver Gert Normann Andersen.” Etymology
From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/perish