as in decomposition
the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances
clearing the refrigerator of what the previous tenant had left behind was like taking a course in the advanced putrefaction of leftovers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of putrefaction
Likely only dead individuals, floating as gases formed by putrefaction accumulated in body cavities, entered the lagoon.
—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
When the surgeons finally opened her with a piece of broken glass, the putrefaction was as warm as life.
—
Nell Zink,
Harper's Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Here was an artist drawn irresistibly to executions and corpses, dismemberment and putrefaction.
—
airmail.news,
20 Apr. 2024
Not the smell of putrefaction, though the novel is littered with rotting corpses.
—
Nathaniel Rich,
The New York Review of Books,
30 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for putrefaction
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
29 July 2025
When the surgeons finally opened her with a piece of broken glass, the putrefaction was as warm as life.
—
Nell Zink,
Harper's Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Here was an artist drawn irresistibly to executions and corpses, dismemberment and putrefaction.
—
airmail.news,
20 Apr. 2024
Not the smell of putrefaction, though the novel is littered with rotting corpses.
—
Nathaniel Rich,
The New York Review of Books,
30 Nov. 2023
See All Example Sentences for putrefaction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrefaction
Noun
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Authorities also found numerous dead animals in advanced stages of decomposition, including hundreds of chickens that investigators said had been discarded in bags and fed to the dogs, according to The Straits Times and The Standard.
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Investigators also found additional remains in advanced stages of decomposition, the sheriff’s office said.
Noun
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The aisles were so choked that blooms and branches brushed against us, the air heady with the scent of lilies, roses, eucalyptus, and sweet decay.
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The physical properties of TRISO fuel and gas cooling allow the core to dissipate residual decay heat naturally.
Cite this Entry
“Putrefaction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrefaction. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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