perish

/ˈpɛɹ.ɪʃ/

//ˈpɛɹ.ɪʃ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"perish" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“perish” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,162. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,162
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To decay and disappear; to waste away to nothing.

Corpus desk

Index EN-perish · perish · English

perish · rank #19,162 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,162
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Penelope

Nearest frequency peer: Penelope (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “perish”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “perish” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

perish vs pers
67% similar
perish vs Perth
50% similar
perish vs prism
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for perish
PropertyValue
Headwordperish
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈpɛɹ.ɪʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#19,162
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “perish”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).perishlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Penelope” (#19,161), “perpetrator” (#19,163), “pats” (#19,160). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “perish” is #19,162. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around perish (IPA /ˈpɛɹ.ɪʃ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #19,162 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for perish, with forms such as "eprish", "peirsh", and "perihs". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pers", "Perth", "prism", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”). The correct English form is perish, spelled P-E-R-I-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    To decay and disappear; to waste away to nothing.
  2. 2
    To decay in such a way that it cannot be used for its original purpose
  3. 3
    To die; to cease to live.
  4. 4
    To cause to perish.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how perish appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 1881, Tarafa, translated by W. A. Clouston, The Poem of Tarafa I consider time as a treasure decreasing every night; and that which every day diminishes soon perishes for ever.
  2. The difficulty is that fresh foods perish due to the multiplication in them of harmful bacteria.

Etymology

From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”).

This word in other languages

perecer(Español)périr(Français)verderben(Deutsch)perecer(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprish
  • peirsh
  • perihs
  • perishh
  • perissh
  • perrish
  • persih
  • pperish
  • preish

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of perish - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

eprish2peirsh2perihs2perishh1perissh1perrish1persih2pperish1
Edit distance from "perish"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "perish"?
"perish" is spelled P-E-R-I-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɛɹ.ɪʃ/.
What does "perish" mean?
As a verb, "perish" means: To decay and disappear; to waste away to nothing.
What words are commonly confused with "perish"?
"perish" is commonly confused with "pers", "Perth", "prism". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "perish"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "perish" is /ˈpɛɹ.ɪʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "perish"?
From Middle English perishen, borrowed from Old French perir (via the stem periss- used in various conjugations), from Latin perīre (“pass away, perish”), from per (“through”) + īre (“pass, go”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "perish", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

photon#19,167potion#19,169primal#19,174Nassau#19,147

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

MSNBC9 variantsrelish9 variantsMargot9 variantsLudwig9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list