perish means to decay and disappear; to waste away to nothing. It carries an Arena rating of 1569, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, perish ranks #175 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,515 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,942 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #2,710 of 42,749 for Qualifying.
perish is pronounced /ˈpɛɹɪʃ/.
Why “perish” is a great word
To die, especially in a sudden, violent, or untimely manner, or to decay or be destroyed completely. From Middle English *perishen*, from Old French *perir* (via the stem *periss-*), from Latin *perīre* ("to pass away, perish"), from *per* ("through, completely") + *īre* ("to go"). Unlike "die" (a neutral, general cessation) or "decay" (the slow, organic process of rot), to perish is to be extinguished by force or misfortune, to go through completely until there is nothing left. It is the tree shattered by lightning, the provisions ruined by seawater, the final, gasping chill of a body abandoned in snow—the absolute and often wasteful conclusion of a journey, insisting on a completeness that leaves only an absence where something once was.
Etymology
From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”).
verb
- To decay and disappear; to waste away to nothing.e.g.“1881, Tarafa, translated by W. A. Clouston, The Poem of Tarafa
I consider time as a treasure decreasing every night; and that which every day diminishes soon perishes for ever.”
- To decay in such a way that it cannot be used for its original purposee.g.“The difficulty is that fresh foods perish due to the multiplication in them of harmful bacteria.” — 2015, Christopher Cumo, Foods that Changed History:
- To die; to cease to live.e.g.“When it goeth well with the righteous, the citie reioyceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 11:10:
- To cause to perish.e.g.“that closeness did impair and a little perish his understanding” — 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Friendship”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.