verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of putrefy
1350–1400; Middle English putrefien < Middle French putrefier < Vulgar Latin *putreficāre, for Latin putrefacere to make rotten
Explanation
When eggs rot, they putrefy or start to smell really, really bad. Putrefy is to begin stinking, usually when rotting or decomposing. When you describe something as putrid, it means it is foul or disgusting –– drinking Coke and milk together is gross. Add ketchup, and the cocktail becomes putrid. But technically, putrid, like putrefy, refers to the smell of something organic that has begun to decompose. Open the lid of your garbage can and you will smell the putrefying remains of your meals. Both putrid and putrefy share the Latin root of putr which you can remember by its first two letters — P. U.!
Vocabulary lists containing putrefy
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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An American Plague
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The Red Pony
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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.
By the Reagan era, the stasis was obvious; in the first two decades of the 21st century, it began to putrefy.
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
A: Obviously, meat will putrefy and smell awful.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2023
They attract rats, flies and other pests and tend to putrefy rather than break down, causing nasty smells, according to the Riverside County guide.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2020
So anytime you encounter the term "putrefy" in a description of the digestive process, file it away under "scare tactic" rather than "scientific fact."
From US News • May 12, 2015
After several weeks, their skin began to putrefy and flake off.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
