perish
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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
Related Words
See die 1.
Other Word Forms
- perishless adjective
- perishment noun
- unperished adjective
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
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.
The global scientific consensus is that most coral reefs would perish at warming of 1.5C above preindustrial levels -- the ambitious, long-term limit countries agreed to pursue under the 2015 Paris climate accord.
From Barron's • Feb. 10, 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
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
Reduced bureaucracy could benefit west coast creel fisherman who sell directly into Europe and benefit from measures to reduce hold-ups for goods that perish quickly.
From BBC • May 19, 2025
When I appeared on deck the master said, “Here is our captain, and he will not allow you to perish on the open sea.”
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
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.
