# perish

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈpɛɹ.ɪʃ/ · frequency rank #19,162

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

## 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”).

## Easily confused with
- **pers** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-pers)
- **Perth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-perth)
- **prism** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-prism)
- **phish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-phish)
- **Polish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-polish)
- **punish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-punish)
- **peruse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-peruse)
- **purist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-purist)
- **persist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-persist)
- **perished** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perish-vs-perished)
- **peri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peri-vs-perish)
- **Paris** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/paris-vs-perish)
- **penis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/penis-vs-perish)
- **peril** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peril-vs-perish)
- **perch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perch-vs-perish)
- **Peres** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/peres-vs-perish)
- **period** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/period-vs-perish)
- **parish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/parish-vs-perish)
- **perils** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/perils-vs-perish)
- **pariah** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/pariah-vs-perish)

## Common misspellings (9)
`eprish`, `peirsh`, `perihs`, `perishh`, `perissh`, `perrish`, `persih`, `pperish`, `preish`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/perish