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Showing results for "perishing"
  • present participle of perish.
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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

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.

See Examples For:

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

It’s a symbiotic relationship that won’t be perishing anytime soon.

From Salon Dec. 2, 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

And she claimed her second victim in her second over, Sarah Bryce perishing for 13 from nine balls when a mis-timed shot resulted in a leading edge that was easily gathered by wicketkeeper Nicole Faltum.

From BBC Jun. 10, 2023

Not being killed in a car accident may be 99 percent certain, while 98 percent of us may avoid perishing in a household accident.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

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