one of a large group of beautiful, fairylike beings of Persian mythology, represented as descended from fallen angels and excluded from paradise until their penance is accomplished.
any lovely, graceful person.
enclosing, encircling, or around
pericardium
pericarp
perigon
near or adjacent
perihelion
(in Persian folklore) one of a race of beautiful supernatural beings
any beautiful fairy-like creature
1770–80; < Persian perī, variant of parī fairy, Middle Persian parīk, Avestan pairikā witch
< Greek, prefixal use of perí (adv. and preposition)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Free roaming cats also prey on European mantises, which are already under pressure from competition with the invasive newcomers and are declining in many peri urban environments.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
It should come as little surprise, then, that numerous British publications have their own “homemade” recipes for peri peri chicken, though they are little consolation for those craving Nando’s.
From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2021
The South African chain, famous for its peri peri sauce, operates more than 400 restaurants across the UK.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2021
The peri then procures the last breath of a young woman who sacrifices herself so that she can die in the arms of her lover during an Egyptian plague.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2018
"Lady, more beautiful than the peri of the gate of Heaven," replied the chief, Kara-al-Zariel, "I and the warriors of my tribe will protect thee and thy friends."
From Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks Book Number Fifteen in the Jack Harkaway Series by Hemyng, Bracebridge
Olivia's mum Peri, 45, said she "cries every time" her daughter sings "because it's been a journey".
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
“The timing is quite significant just on the back of the India-U.S. trade deal,” said Dinakar Peri, a fellow in the security studies program at Carnegie India, a think tank based in New Delhi.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
Still, “refugees are one of the cleanest and clearest immigrant economic success stories,” said Giovanni Peri, a professor of economics at the University of California, Davis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025
James Burrows discusses directing the original ‘Frasier’ pilot, including why Peri Gilpin replaced Lisa Kudrow as Roz.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2024
In 1597, their first semi-collaborative attempt at this new form, which they called ‘drama through music’, was a piece called Dafhe, with music by one of their number, Jacopo Peri.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Gwyneth Paltrow, who turns 50 today, staked her menopausal claim years ago with Madame Ovary, a “supplemental protocol” designed to relieve peri- and menopausal symptoms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
According to a recent study, about 27 million members of the American workforce are peri- or fully menopausal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
One of the largest demographics in America is women in their forties to sixties, and by 2020 there will be nearly 60 million peri- and post-menopausal women living in the United States.
From Time ● Apr. 3, 2015
The body of man in all partes at cōcord, euery part executing his func- cion & office, florisheth, and in strength prospereth, otherwise The bodie of man without concord of the partes, peri- sheth.
From A booke called the Foundacion of Rhetorike because all other partes of Rhetorike are grounded thereupon, euery parte sette forthe in an Oracion vpon questions, verie profitable to bee knowen and redde by Rainolde, Richard
Less common complications are jaundice, peri- and endo-carditis, meningitis, local and general paralyses, cancrum oris, a diffuse cellular inflammation ending in purulent infiltration, and inflammatory swellings of the glands, or buboes.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
Such words as "blastoderm", "sindoc," "peris," "parasang," "sarcenet," "teazel," "nullah," "cantatrice," "barracan," "sistrum," writhed and hissed in her verses.
From Time Magazine Archive
Camouflaged by rainbows, skylarks, fairies, peris, sensitive plants and Epipsychidions, there was no more successful softener than Sapper Shelley.
From Time Magazine Archive
Then I came out of my hiding, took a little of her dung and conveyed it to the peris.
From The Brown Fairy Book by Lang, Andrew
Thus, the dives are hideous and wicked, whilst the peris are beautiful and good.
From Shorter Novels, Eighteenth Century The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia; The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story; Vathek, an Arabian Tale by Beckford, William
Were they peris, sylphs, fays, or fairies, or a choice selection of mermaids come on shore for a dance?
From Born to Wander A Boy's Book of Nomadic Adventures by Stables, Gordon
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.
