putrefaction

[pyoo-truh-fak-shuhn]

noun

1. the act or process of putrefying; the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter by bacteria and fungi that results in obnoxiously odorous products; rotting.

2. the state of being putrefied; decay.

Other Word Forms

• putrefactive adjective
• putrefacient adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of putrefaction¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin putrefactiōn- (stem of putrefactiō ) a rotting, equivalent to Latin putrefact ( us ) (past participle of putrefacere to putrefy ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

“At death, virus replication stops and putrefaction and heat begins to neutralize live virus,” he said.

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The putrefaction of flesh caused many corpses to inflate.

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Gut bacteria, especially a class of microbes called Clostridia, spread through your organs and digest you from the inside out in a process called putrefaction.

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"He's in the putrefaction stage now, because of the water."

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“But this operation is already powerless to help the Kyiv regime, which has now advanced to the stage of post-mortem putrefaction. Nothing could regalvanize its corpse at this point.”

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