PUTREFACTION Synonyms: 18 Similar and Opposite Words

putrefaction

noun

ˌpyü-trə-ˈfak-shən

Definition of putrefaction

as in decomposition

the process by which dead organic matter separates into simpler substances clearing the refrigerator of what the previous tenant had left behind was like taking a course in the advanced putrefaction of leftovers

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of putrefaction Likely only dead individuals, floating as gases formed by putrefaction accumulated in body cavities, entered the lagoon. — David Bressan, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025 When the surgeons finally opened her with a piece of broken glass, the putrefaction was as warm as life. — Nell Zink, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025 Here was an artist drawn irresistibly to executions and corpses, dismemberment and putrefaction. — airmail.news, 20 Apr. 2024 Not the smell of putrefaction, though the novel is littered with rotting corpses. — Nathaniel Rich, The New York Review of Books, 30 Nov. 2023 See All Example Sentences for putrefaction

Recent Examples of Synonyms for putrefaction

Noun

His hands and legs were bound, duct tape covered his face, and his body was burned and showed signs of decomposition, according to the record.

— Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2026
Soil organic matter is a rich substance created by the decomposition of the carbon-rich litter layer above it, forming a layer that soil scientists call the O-horizon.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of decomposition

Noun

But the eleventh-hour blitz of No On 3 ads that Keep Florida Clean funded, warning of the greed of Big Weed, inflamed voters’ private worries of societal decay.

— Christopher Spata, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
The commercial benchmark, by comparison, showed continuous performance decay during testing.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026