perished; perishing; perishes
1
: to become destroyed or ruined : cease to exist
recollection of a past already long since perished—
Philip Sherrard
Philip Sherrardguard against your mistakes or your attempts (perish the thought) to cheat—C. B. Davis
C. B. Davis2
chiefly British
: deteriorate, spoil
Synonyms
Examples of perish in a Sentence
Two people perished in the fire.
The sailors perished at sea.
The civilization perished after 500 years.
Many ancient languages have perished over time.
The rubber will perish with age.
Recent Examples on the Web
Decades later, in 2002, the truth was revealed at The Second World Space Congress—that is, Laika perished within hours of launching.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
More than 100,000 Dutch Jews perished—roughly 75 percent of the country’s Jewish population.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2025
Authorities said the five victims perished in the fast-moving Eaton Canyon fire that sparked around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Altadena and Pasadena areas of northeastern L.A. County and grew to about 1,000 acres by midnight.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2025
When the Monkey House roof is destroyed during shelling, some of its residents perish from heart attacks.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for perish 
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Scott Travers, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
More than 100,000 Dutch Jews perished—roughly 75 percent of the country’s Jewish population.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2025
Authorities said the five victims perished in the fast-moving Eaton Canyon fire that sparked around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Altadena and Pasadena areas of northeastern L.A. County and grew to about 1,000 acres by midnight.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2025
When the Monkey House roof is destroyed during shelling, some of its residents perish from heart attacks.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for perish
Dictionary Entries Near perish
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perish. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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perish
verb
per·ish
ˈper-ish 
: to pass away completely : become destroyed
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