ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Putrefy

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈpjutɹəfaɪ/ · Part of speech verb

Quick meaning: Putrefy is a verb meaning To fester or rot and exude a fetid stench.

Meaning

To fester or rot and exude a fetid stench.

More Meanings

  1. To become filled with a pus-like or bile-like substance.
  2. To reach an advanced stage of decomposition.
  3. To become gangrenous.
  4. To make morbid, carious, or gangrenous.
  5. To corrupt; to make foul.

Example Sentences

to putrefy an ulcer or wound
Private suits do putrefy the public good.
They would but stink, and putrefy the air.
In the Middle Ages, for instance, a recipe for sex stimulation required the putrefied flesh of a human corpse, together with both human and animal testes and ovaries, pimento, and alcohol.

Word Forms

Synonyms for putrefy

Depending on context, synonyms include decay, fester, rot.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include taint, muddy, etiolate, reek, sickly, woodify.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.