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perish

[per-ish]

Example Sentences Origin

verb (used without object)

to die or be destroyed through violence, privation, etc.: to perish in an earthquake.

to pass away or disappear: an age of elegance that has forever perished.

to suffer destruction or ruin: His valuable paintings perished in the fire.

to suffer spiritual death: Save us, lest we perish.

Idiom

perish the thought, may it never happen: used facetiously or as an afterthought of foreboding.

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Perish is a GRE word you need to know.

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the nature of a precursor

commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct

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Origin:
1200–50; Middle English perissen < Old French periss-, long stem of perir < Latin perīre to perish, literally, go through, spend fully, equivalent to per- per- + īre to go

Related forms

per·ish·less, adjective

per·ish·ment, noun

un·per·ished, adjective

Synonyms
1. expire. See die¹. 2. wither, shrivel, rot, molder, vanish.

Antonyms
2. appear.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To perish

Example Sentences

Publish or perish has long been the burden of every aspiring university professor.

It improves one's ability to teach but makes one question the sacred principle of publish or perish.

Another danger is that a worthy experiment with risk-based border controls will perish.

EXPAND

Publish or perish has long been the burden of every aspiring university professor.

It improves one's ability to teach but makes one question the sacred principle of publish or perish.

Another danger is that a worthy experiment with risk-based border controls will perish.

Bleaching occurs when warmer oceans cause corals to lose their symbiotic algae, leaving the blanched reefs to slowly perish.

Cities that cease to provide choice-or which try to overcontrol their denizens-lose their spark and sometimes perish.

It's a shame for wildlife to perish because of being hit by a car.

Guerena survived two tours in the desert only to perish in a military-style action in his own home.

New media predators rise up, but other media species typically adapt rather than perish.

That's why it's publish or perish, not teach or perish.

There is no way to predict which clones will thrive and which will perish.

Without relief, aid workers say, thousands more civilians would perish.

We, ourselves, would perish long before such an event would take place.

Their harvest and agricultural rituals, practiced for centuries, would perish.

They don't face stacks of papers to grade or the pressures of publish or perish.

Cloned animals still perish in large numbers at all stages of development.

If totally deprived of shut-eye, humans ultimately perish.

Most of us would perish if our modern genetic position remained static during a societal collapse.

Murderers and men who expect to die in jail are particularly likely to perish at their own hand.

Animals that depend on plants for food and shelter will have to adapt to the changes, move to another ecosystem, or perish.

Kenyans perish in large numbers with every fire that breaks out.

They will do anything to get that paper in as it is still publish or perish.

Parasites who persistently avoid either purpose or reason perish as they should.

Six scientists and three tourists perish instantly.

How a diving bird, whose habitat before it was supposed to perish off the face of the earth.

If they get caught by a snow storm and lose visibility they will then perish because they are under-dressed.

Most summer bloomers have grown tattered and weary, while many tender annuals perish at the.

Once you understand the way publishing works, you are well equipped not to perish as an academic.

In the long run, the same old rules will apply_ the fittest will survive and the weak will perish.

If the colony does not perish during this crisis, it takes about half a year until the new queen is able to reproduce.

Largely original, the owner has been replacing/renewing items such as rubber and other items that perish over time.

According to some estimates, millions perish each year due to illnesses complicated by air pollution.

Let them and their defective gene pool perish if that's their wish.

But estimates of their ages depend on theories of how stars live and perish.

If the mining company continues with its plans to destroy the holy ground, their civilization and the earth itself will perish.

The way of the twitter is the people keep retwitting what they judge significant, so some memes emerge while other perish.

In the process of trying to earn money to support their families, many become paralyzed or simply perish.

Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

But sooner will our society perish in its short-sighted foolishness.

Which is also the reason why in the end they are going to perish.

They must adapt to their ever-changing environment or they will perish.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

perish (ˈpɛrɪʃ)

—vb
1.	to be destroyed or die, esp in an untimely way
2.	(tr sometimes followed by with or from) to cause to suffer: we were perished with cold
3.	to rot: leather perishes if exposed to bad weather
4.	perish the thought! may it never be or happen thus

—n
5.	informal (Austral) do a perish to die or come near to dying of thirst or starvation

[C13: from Old French périr, from Latin perīre to pass away entirely, from per- (away) + īre to go]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

perish

mid-13c., from periss- prp. stem of O.Fr. perir, from L. perire "to be lost, perish," lit. "to go through," from per- "through, completely, to destruction" + ire "to go." Perishables in reference to foodstuffs is attested from 1895.

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

perish

In addition to the idiom beginning with perish, also see publish or perish.

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