Philip SherrardC. B. Davis
Synonyms
Examples of perish in a Sentence
ABC News, 7 Apr. 2024
There is a perception in some Black communities that when the U.S. goes to war, Black people will be more likely to perish.
—Naima Green-Riley, Foreign Affairs, 23 Feb. 2024
Hundreds of years later, Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist who famously perished at the 79 C.E. eruption of Vesuvius, wrote in his Natural History of the Etrurians’ use of milifolium (or yarrow), in treating wounds and toothaches.
—Elizabeth Heath, Discover Magazine, 17 Feb. 2024
So many people would have perished if those changes weren’t put into place, lifeboats and bulkheads and things like that.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2024
Then, the attackers used a flammable liquid to set fire to the premises of the large concert hall, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, which said many of the victims perished after inhaling the toxic fumes.
—Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2024
Without large-scale regulatory frameworks at their disposal, many of the inhabitants of the Ordovician simply perished.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024
Tom and Tim Haskell, two brothers from Seaford, New York, and members of the FDNY, perished on 9/11 while rescuing others from the Twin Towers.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 17 Mar. 2024
Many Jews who hadn’t already escaped perished in Nazi death camps, including Lilly’s sister and mother in Auschwitz, the family said.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Middle English perisshen, from Anglo-French periss-, stem of perir, from Latin perire, from per- detrimentally + ire to go — more at per-, issue entry 1
13th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Phrases Containing perish
Dictionary Entries Near perish
Cite this Entry
“Perish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perish. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
perish
verb
More from Merriam-Webster on perish
Nglish: Translation of perish for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of perish for Arabic Speakers
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