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
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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Words for the High School Graduate
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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.
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
He is the 18th person known to have died in the Eaton fire, and the only victim to perish east of Lake Avenue.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2025
And for Valerie...if she did not perish in that ocean, then there is more for her to do in this life.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
