putrefaction

[ pyoo-truh-fak-shuh n ]

/ ˌpyu trəˈfæk ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR putrefaction ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or process of putrefying; the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter by bacteria and fungi that results in obnoxiously odorous products; rotting.

the state of being putrefied; decay.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

putnam, putnam-dana syndrome, putoff, putonghua, putrajaya, putrefaction, putrefactive, putrefy, putrescence, putrescent, putrescible

Origin of putrefaction

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin putrefactiōn- (stem of putrefactiō) a rotting, equivalent to Latin putrefact(us) (past participle of putrefacere to putrefy) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms

pu·tre·fac·tive, pu·tre·fa·cient

[pyoo-truh-fey-shuh nt] /ˌpyu trəˈfeɪ ʃənt/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for putrefaction

Under this head are also rightly ranked the phenomena of putrefaction.
Louis Pasteur|Ren Vallery-Radot
The element which I breathed appeared to have stagnated into noxiousness and putrefaction.
Arthur Mervyn|Charles Brockden Brown
It gives one a shock of surprise to see so rich a garb adorn those workers in putrefaction.
The Life of the Fly|J. Henri Fabre
The Greenlanders consider extreme cold as favorable to putrefaction.
Library Notes|A. P. Russell

Experimentally he showed that the presence of the bacilli which produce lactic acid inhibited the process of putrefaction.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 8|Various

Medicine definitions for putrefaction

putrefaction

[ pyōō′trə-făk′shən ]

n.

Decomposition of organic matter, especially protein, by microorganisms, resulting in production of foul-smelling matter.

Putrefied matter.

The condition of being putrefied.