Perish Definition

pĕrĭsh
perished, perishes
verb
perished, perishes
To be destroyed, ruined, or wiped out.
Webster's New World
To die; esp., to die a violent or untimely death.
Webster's New World
To pass from existence; disappear gradually.
American Heritage
To spoil or deteriorate.
American Heritage
To bring to destruction; destroy.
American Heritage
Antonyms:
idiom
perish the thought
  • Used to express the wish that one not even think about something.
American Heritage
perish the thought!
  • let's not even consider such a possibility!
Webster's New World

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Perish

Origin of Perish

  • From Middle English perishen, from Old French periss-, stem of certain parts of perir, from Latin perÄ«re (“to pass away, perish"), present active infinitive of pereō, from per (“through") + (“to go"); see iter.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English perishen from Old French perir periss- to perish from Latin perīre per- per- īre to go ei- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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