perish
Americanverb (used without object)
-
perishes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
perished,
past participle, past
-
perishing
present participle
-
to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc..
to perish in an earthquake.
- Synonyms:
- expire
-
to pass away or disappear.
an age of elegance that has forever perished.
- Antonyms:
- appear
-
to suffer destruction or ruin.
His valuable paintings perished in the fire.
-
to suffer spiritual death.
Save us, lest we perish.
idioms
verb
-
to be destroyed or die, esp in an untimely way
-
(tr sometimes followed by with or from) to cause to suffer
we were perished with cold
-
to rot
leather perishes if exposed to bad weather
-
may it never be or happen thus
noun
Synonym Usage
See die 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
perishsimple
-
perishessimple
-
have perishedperfect
-
has perishedperfect
-
am perishingprogressive
-
are perishingprogressive
-
is perishingprogressive
-
have been perishingperfect progressive
-
has been perishingperfect progressive
Past
-
perishedsimple
-
had perishedperfect
-
was perishingprogressive
-
were perishingprogressive
-
had been perishingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of perish
1200–50; Middle English perissen < Old French periss-, long stem of perir < Latin perīre to perish, literally, go through, spend fully, equivalent to per- per- + īre to go
Explanation
To perish means to die. Your brother's goldfish might perish if he forgets to feed it — so be sure to remind him that Goldie needs her dinner! Perish comes from a Latin verb that means "to pass away." Many passengers on the Titanic perished after the ship hit an iceberg. Perish can also be used figuratively, as when an op-ed argues that the idea of the American Dream perished in the 21st century. People also sometimes use this word simply to be dramatic. You might, for instance, tell your mom that you'll perish if you aren't allowed to spend the weekend at your best friend's house.
Vocabulary lists containing perish
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Composer Shankar Mahadevan said "every Indian is heartbroken today", adding that her music would "never perish as long as humanity exists" and that she would "live forever, with her incredible voice echoing across the world".
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
Evolution occurs through random variation and natural selection: The strong survive and reproduce; the weak perish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. put it simply in 1961, another era when it seemed America would split into pieces: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2025
Instead, there are scores of planets and moons where humans, if exposed to local conditions without life support, would perish immediately.
From Slate ● Dec. 9, 2025
“I know it, and I might perish from sheer embarrassment. But no mind, I brought you a little gift to repair the damage,” she said, handing him the paper bag.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
"We need to get the food out as soon as we can before it perishes," Steele said.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
When the cells die, their myelin production perishes with them, causing myelin sheaths to break down with nothing to replenish them.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 28, 2024
West of the Cascades, many a plant perishes due to excessive rain in winter, even though it’s cold hardy and “drought-tolerant.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
The two-part sixth, and final, season of “The Crown” explores Princess Diana’s final days before she perishes in a car accident.
From Reuters ● Nov. 15, 2023
He has donned the livery of the King's servants; he has said, 'Whoever perishes, I will live!'
From Historical Romances: Under the Red Robe, Count Hannibal, A Gentleman of France by Stanley J. Weyman
Before the service began, a worshiper read aloud the names of some 200 parishioners who perished.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
"The names of the victims who perished in the accident will be released in due course," a police statement said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
The animals did not die immediately, but they perished within several days.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
He also stood at the "Door of Europe" memorial for those who had perished attempting the crossing and spoke to a migrant family.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The dryad who would have perished with it told him to ask anything he desired and she would give it.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The young meat-eater had chomped off the hind legs of two parrot-like dinosaurs called caenagnathids before perishing itself.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 8, 2023
It’s a symbiotic relationship that won’t be perishing anytime soon.
From Salon ● Dec. 2, 2023
Years of anecdotal reports from other golden lovers as well as scattershot studies seemed to support the idea that something was wrong: Were the big, sweet dogs now perishing earlier than their forebears?
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2023
Over recent years, there have been many similar examples of migrants perishing during their journey, but no single event as deadly as what was discovered on Monday.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2022
‘The perishing is more likely, and will be a lot easier anyway,’ he said grimly to himself, as he sheathed Sting and turned from the brazen doors.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
