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Definition of "putrefy" []

  • To cause to decay and have a foul odor. See Synonyms at decay. (verb-transitive)
  • To make gangrenous. (verb-transitive)
  • To become decayed and have a foul odor. (verb-intransitive)
  • To become gangrenous. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "putrefy" in a sentence
  • "* Dead bodies quickly putrefy and so become a health hazard to the living."
  • "Soon enough, a patient may be able to remain on such apparatuses for many months, long after meaningful brain function has ceased, until his skin and tissue begins to putrefy."
  • "After we die, hate will be the first thing to putrefy within us . . ."