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Showing Results for "perishing"
See Also:
  • present participle of perish.
Synonyms

perishing

American  
[per-i-shing] / ˈpɛr ɪ ʃɪŋ /

adjective

  1. causing destruction, ruin, extreme discomfort, or death.

    lost in the perishing cold.


perishing British  
/ ˈpɛrɪʃɪŋ /

adjective

  1. informal (of weather, etc) extremely cold

  2. slang (intensifier qualifying something undesirable)

    it's a perishing nuisance!

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived 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.

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

Years of anecdotal reports from other golden lovers as well as scattershot studies seemed to support the idea that something was wrong: Were the big, sweet dogs now perishing earlier than their forebears?

From Slate • Oct. 9, 2023

Over recent years, there have been many similar examples of migrants perishing during their journey, but no single event as deadly as what was discovered on Monday.

From BBC • Jun. 28, 2022

“I thought you’d never ask. I’m perishing in this heat. My name is Earline Grantham, sir. Who are you?”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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