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:
This would allow you to meet unexpected expenses without having to sell investments during a market downturn or, perish the thought, borrow against your home.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
Emperor penguins rely on stable sea ice to live, hunt and breed and their chicks can perish if they fall in freezing water before developing waterproof feathers.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
The task today is to continue advancing the cause that he identified at Gettysburg: “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
It’s still uncertain how many of the trees it scorched will perish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
When Helm read Psalm 9:18, “For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever,” he knew his duty was to serve them.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Another is a pungent work of terror about a cursed man who inexplicably perishes in the village’s crypt, forcing the townspeople to investigate by disinterring the bodies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
"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
He lives in communion with all around him, and before his ultimate dissolution he is doomed to die with every object of his affections that perishes before him.
From Curiosities of Medical Experience by J. G. (John Gideon) Millingen
I did not know then how many people had perished, but I knew countless families would be grieving that day.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
If we’re to believe what’s chronicled in “Freefall” by former Boeing employees, aviation experts, crash investigators and the families of those who perished in the 737 Max crashes, there’s already a thin line of accountability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Notably, neither scavengers nor flies that fed on the supposedly poisoned carcasses have perished -- creatures that typically succumb after consuming poisoned animals.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
"My father gave his life for the country and he should be remembered as a martyr," Dorjai said, adding that his teammates who perished deserve the same title.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Plants died and the grasses rotted, cattle and sheep crept to the river that was no more and perished there for lack of water, lizards and squirrels lay prone and gasping in the blistering sunlight.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
They looked absolutely freezing, which was not a surprise as it was a perishing January night in Lancashire.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026
All that’s clear is massive landmarks are perishing and that you need to run.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2024
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
Levin yelled out into the roar, anything to take his mind off the thought of perishing in a landslide.
From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2022
“Get to it, boy. If you succeed without perishing, you shall be a part of the inner circle.”
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
