perish

[ per-ish ]

verb (used without object)

1. to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc.:

   to perish in an earthquake.

   Synonyms: expire

2. to pass away or disappear:

   an age of elegance that has forever perished.

   Synonyms: vanish, molder, rot, shrivel, wither

   Antonyms: appear

3. to suffer destruction or ruin:

   His valuable paintings perished in the fire.

4. to suffer spiritual death:

   Save us, lest we perish.

perish

/ ˈpɛrɪʃ /

verb

1. to be destroyed or die, esp in an untimely way
2. tr sometimes followed by with or from to cause to suffer

   we were perished with cold

3. to rot

   leather perishes if exposed to bad weather

4. perish the thought!
   may it never be or happen thus

noun

1. do a perish informal.
   to die or come near to dying of thirst or starvation

Other Words From

• perish·less adjective
• perish·ment noun
• un·perished adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of perish¹

1200–50; Middle English perissen < Old French periss-, long stem of perir < Latin perīre to perish, literally, go through, spend fully, equivalent to per- per- + īre to go

Word History and Origins

Origin of perish¹

C13: from Old French périr, from Latin perīre to pass away entirely, from per- (away) + īre to go

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. perish the thought, may it never happen: used facetiously or as an afterthought of foreboding.

More idioms and phrases containing perish

In addition to the idiom beginning with perish , also see publish or perish .

Synonym Study

See die ¹.

Example Sentences

In China, tens of millions more perished in a 1959-1961 famine caused in part by Mao Zedong’s embrace of Lysenko’s policies.

From Los Angeles Times

Male fruit flies are attracted to the mixture and perish after consuming it.

From Los Angeles Times

Officials estimate that more than 6 million bats have perished across the U.S. from the syndrome as of 2012.

From Los Angeles Times

Local officials in the town of Chiva, near Valencia, said it was "impossible" to put a final figure on the number of people who have perished.

From BBC

They and others without access to willing doctors perished at a horrifying rate from self-abortions or operations performed in “dark, dingy apartments,” the documentary reports,

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cease
• crumble
• disappear
• disintegrate
• pass away
• rot
• succumb
• vanish
• wither