perish

Perish is a verb with several closely related senses. Most commonly, it means to die, especially suddenly or as the result of a calamity. It can also mean to cease to exist or to be destroyed, as when a city or culture perishes in a disaster, or to rot or spoil, as organic matter or food that perishes over time. In ordinary language, perish tends to carry a stronger or more dramatic nuance than die or cease to exist.

Perish is often used to describe deaths in accidents, battles, floods, famines, or other extreme events. The phrase perish the thought is a fixed idiom meaning let that thought be forgotten or dismissed. The adjective perishable describes items that are likely to spoil or decay, such as food, medicine, or news; perishables are goods with short shelf lives.

Etymology traces perish to the Old French perir, from Latin perīre, meaning to go away, die, or be destroyed. The term has long been part of English and appears in both literary and historical contexts as well as everyday speech.

Synonyms for perish include die, pass away, expire, and cease to exist, while antonyms include survive, endure, and persist. Related terms include perishability, perishing, and perishable, which describe the quality or state of being able to decay or spoil.