All 5 Uses of
perish
in
1984, by Orwell
- At twenty-three he had perished in action.†
p. 47.2 *perished = died, was destroyed, or ceased to exist
- It seemed to him that he knew instinctively who would survive and who would perish: though just what it was that made for survival, it was not easy to say.†
p. 61.4perish = die, be destroyed, or cease to exist
- There were further angry demonstrations, Goldstein was burned in effigy, hundreds of copies of the poster of the Eurasian soldier were torn down and added to the flames, and a number of shops were looted in the turmoil; then a rumor flew round that spies were directing the rocket bombs by means of wireless waves, and an old couple who were suspected of being of foreign extraction had their house set on fire and perished of suffocation.†
p. 149.9perished = died, was destroyed, or ceased to exist
- Not in the individual mind, which can make mistakes, and in any case soon perishes: only in the mind of the Party, which is collective and immortal.†
p. 249.4perishes = dies or is destroyed
- Ah, it was more than a Eurasian army that had perished!†
p. 297.5perished = died, was destroyed, or ceased to exist
Definition:
to die -- especially in an unnatural way
or:
to be destroyed or cease to exist
or:
to be destroyed or cease to exist
You may encounter an informal expression, "Perish the thought." It means that the speaker hopes the thought will cease to exist and the thing it represents will never happen.