perishing
Americanadjective
adjective
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informal (of weather, etc) extremely cold
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slang (intensifier qualifying something undesirable)
it's a perishing nuisance!
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of perishing
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at perish, -ing 2
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.
Perishing in a snowdrift of optimistic clich�s, Bentley loses all � home, wife, job, future.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Rescue the Perishing" was the startlingly appropriate selection, rendered with inconceivable lingering upon each syllable: "Roos-cyoo the Poor-oosh-oong!"
From The Conquest of Canaan by Tarkington, Booth
I told the Captin afterwards what the Major had told me but I dont think he would care if General Perishing had asked me home to dinner.
From No title by
If General Perishing should happen to find one of us starved to death some mornin he wants to be able to show him we had plenty of food on us when we slipped away.
From "Same old Bill, eh Mable!" by Breck, G. William
I must, because I have to see my 'Rescue the Perishing.'
From The Bread-winners A Social Study by Hay, John
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.
