All 3 Uses of
perish
in
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- My mind was made up; I was resolved that I would foil my master and save my children, or I would perish in the attempt.†
Chpt 15 *perish = die, be destroyed, or cease to exist
- I knew the doom that awaited my fair baby in slavery, and I determined to save her from it, or perish in the attempt.†
Chpt 16
- She said if I persevered I might, perhaps, gain the freedom of my children; and even if I perished in doing it, that was better than to leave them to groan under the same persecutions that had blighted my own life.†
Chpt 28perished = 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.