Meaning & use

perishing

adjective·Everyday

Last updated

Extremely or bitterly cold (informal, chiefly British); also used as the present participle of "perish," meaning dying or being destroyed.

See it in a sentence

"It's perishing out there," she said, pulling her coat tighter against the wind.

Crops were perishing in the fields after weeks without rain.

A note on using this word

In British informal speech, "perishing" is often used as an intensifier for cold weather, distinct from its literal sense of dying.

Words with a similar meaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Another way to use it

2. verb

Dying, or suffering destruction or ruin.

Thousands of ancient manuscripts were perishing from neglect before the archive was restored.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “perishing”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.