Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

putrefy

/ˈpjutɹəfaɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.44 in modern English

Syllables: pu-tre-fy
IPA: /ˈpjutɹəfaɪ/

15

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To fester or rot and exude a fetid stench.

verb

To become filled with a pus-like or bile-like substance.

verb

To reach an advanced stage of decomposition.

verb

To become gangrenous.

verb

To make morbid, carious, or gangrenous.

verb

To corrupt; to make foul.

Example Sentences

"In the Middle Ages, for instance, a recipe for sex stimulation required the putrefied flesh of a human corpse, together with both human and animal testes and ovaries, pimento, and alcohol."
"to putrefy an ulcer or wound"
"Private suits do putrefy the public good."
"They would but stink, and putrefy the air."

Etymology

From Middle French putréfier.

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: *puH-, putréfier

Inflected Forms

putrefies (present, singular) putrefying (participle, present) putrefied (participle, past) putrefied (past) putrify (alternative)

Derived Forms

putrefiable putrefier unputrefied

Synonyms

decay fester rot

Questions

How do you pronounce putrefy?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpjutɹəfaɪ/.
What does putrefy mean?: To fester or rot and exude a fetid stench.
Where does putrefy come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce putrefy

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “putrefy”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpjutɹəfaɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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