as in to decompose
to go through decomposition
we traced the bad smell to a dead skunk putrefying under the house
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Recent Examples of putrefy
Fast-forward to now, and the scene has putrefied into a wasteland of the percussive undead.
—
Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 2 July 2025
But those explicit depictions underscore the many points McCartney and McLennan are trying to make about how misogyny putrefies society.
—Alexis Gunderson, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2024
It was designed to hold 20 bodies but on this day held 28 — the putrefied remains testifying to two dozen shattered dreams of reaching the United States.
—Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Mules killed in the assault putrefied and attracted swarms of maggots.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2024
Just as fruit and meats left untouched began to rot and putrefy, dregs and undigested material inside the body turned poisonous if not expelled.
—Meg Leja, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Nov. 2023
Just as fruit and meats left untouched began to rot and putrefy, so did dregs and undigested material inside the body turn poisonous if not expelled.
—Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2023
Many recipes that survive from antiquity call for allowing fish to putrefy in open vats under the Mediterranean sun for up to three months.
—Taras Grescoe, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2021
But some of the ailments Romans suffered boggle the mind—vicious fevers, wasting diseases and worms living in putrefying wounds that refused to heal.
—Edward Watts, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2020
Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 2 July 2025
But those explicit depictions underscore the many points McCartney and McLennan are trying to make about how misogyny putrefies society.
—Alexis Gunderson, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2024
It was designed to hold 20 bodies but on this day held 28 — the putrefied remains testifying to two dozen shattered dreams of reaching the United States.
—Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Mules killed in the assault putrefied and attracted swarms of maggots.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2024
Just as fruit and meats left untouched began to rot and putrefy, dregs and undigested material inside the body turned poisonous if not expelled.
—Meg Leja, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Nov. 2023
Just as fruit and meats left untouched began to rot and putrefy, so did dregs and undigested material inside the body turn poisonous if not expelled.
—Discover Magazine, 7 Nov. 2023
Many recipes that survive from antiquity call for allowing fish to putrefy in open vats under the Mediterranean sun for up to three months.
—Taras Grescoe, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2021
But some of the ailments Romans suffered boggle the mind—vicious fevers, wasting diseases and worms living in putrefying wounds that refused to heal.
—Edward Watts, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrefy
Verb
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Deputies found Angela Byrd, 44, deceased and wrapped in plastic inside the couple’s home, where Byrd allegedly lived for weeks as the body decomposed, according to the sheriff.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
22 July 2025
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Here's how to prevent them in your home: Fruit flies feed on the liquid of decomposing food and any sticky substances.—
Emma Ashe,
Southern Living,
13 July 2025
Verb
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This rotting food would inevitably emit a stench so overpowering that early European explorers, fur trappers, and missionaries were sickened by it.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 July 2025
-
In a 1965 article from the Marion Leader-Tribune, Hoosier farmers statewide reported that roughly a fourth of their tomato crop had rotted due to unfavorable weather and a failure to attract enough workers.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
26 July 2025
Verb
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However, when viruses were exposed to sunlight, many of them did not survive as long, decaying in under 24 hours.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
13 Mar. 2025
-
The result was not only environmental catastrophe but license for unchecked consumption of cheap plastic goods that can take a few minutes to use but hundreds of years to decay.—
Scott W. Stern,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2025
Verb
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After that group disintegrated, the pair linked up with the guitarist and drummer of another band, Mythology — Iommi and Bill Ward — in late 1968 and formed a sextet called the Polka Tulk Blues Band.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
22 July 2025
-
Substantial, but not so much so that the bun will disintegrate from rivers of juice.—
Li Goldstein,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Putrefy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/putrefy. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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