All 3 Uses of
perish
in
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- He went on listening, and gathered by odds and ends that it was conjectured at first that the boys had got drowned while taking a swim; then the small raft had been missed; next, certain boys said the missing lads had promised that the village should "hear something" soon; the wise-heads had "put this and that together" and decided that the lads had gone off on that raft and would turn up at the next town below, presently; but toward noon the raft had been found, lodged against the Missouri shore some five or six miles below the village —and then hope perished; they must be drowned, else hunger would have driven them home by nightfall if not sooner.†
Chpt 15perished = died, was destroyed, or ceased to exist
- There was not an urchin in school but was perishing to have a glimpse of it, but the chance never came.†
Chpt 20 *perishing = dying or being destroyed; or extremely cold
- The "might" was even a chillier horror than the ghostly laughter, it so confessed a perishing hope.†
Chpt 31
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.