perish

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈpeɹɪʃ/ UK /ˈpɛɹɪʃ/ See IPA manual

Freq #9529

Meanings

1

verb
to die or be destroyed, especially suddenly or in harsh conditions

Many plants perish in a hard frost.
2

verb
to decay or be ruined so that something can no longer be used

Fresh food can perish quickly in heat.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to die or be destroyed,... die expire

2 verb · to decay or be ruined so... spoil decay

Word family

Forms perishedperishesperishethperishing

Derived forms nonperishingperishabilityperisherperishinglyperishlessunperishedunperishing

Related forms perishable

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”).

*h₁ey- Proto-Indo-European perishen Middle English perir Old French pereo Latin

View etymology graph ->

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# perish

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈpeɹɪʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɛɹɪʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 9529

## Meanings
1. to die or be destroyed, especially suddenly or in harsh conditions
2. to decay or be ruined so that something can no longer be used

## Examples
- Many plants perish in a hard frost.
- Fresh food can perish quickly in heat.

## Synonyms
- die
- expire
- spoil
- decay

## Derived Forms
- nonperishing
- perishability
- perisher
- perishingly
- perishless
- unperished
- unperishing

## Related Forms
- perishable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *h₁ey-
- Root: perishen
- Root: perir
- Root: pereo

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
perish is a verb meaning to die or be destroyed, especially suddenly or in harsh conditions. 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”).

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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perish

Meanings

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