putrefaction
Americannoun
-
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.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
If you suspect that something in your yard is in a state of putrefaction, there's probably something stinky and rotten out there. The relatives of this word in English all resemble it and fit neatly into one meaning category, "rotten." The mother of them all is putrid, from Latin putris, "rotten." This leads to putrefy, which means "make rotten," and finally putrefaction, the process of rotting or a state of being rotten. The ending is -faction rather than -fication on the pattern of many nouns that have Latin facere in their pasts: benefaction, malefaction, and liquefaction — to name a few.
Vocabulary lists containing putrefaction
Make Do: Fac
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Grendel
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All Quiet on the Western Front
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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.
“At death, virus replication stops and putrefaction and heat begins to neutralize live virus,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2024
"He's in the putrefaction stage now, because of the water."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2023
And she regrets to inform us that the putrefaction touches every corner of the place.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2023
“It is a laborious process because generally the bodies are in a putrefaction stage, many individual characteristics have been lost,” Pachar said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2021
This deathly exhalation from the shell-holes seems to be a mixture of chloroform and putrefaction, and fills us with nausea and retching.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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.
