PUTREFACTION

corruption, degeneracy, depravation, depravity, putrefaction

(noun) moral perversion; impairment of virtue and moral principles; “the luxury and corruption among the upper classes”; “moral degeneracy followed intellectual degeneration”; “its brothels, its opium parlors, its depravity”; “Rome had fallen into moral putrefaction”

decomposition, rot, rotting, putrefaction, breakdown

(noun) (biology) the process of decay caused by bacterial or fungal action

putrefaction, rot

(noun) a state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

putrefaction (countable and uncountable, plural putrefactions)

The act of causing to rot; the anaerobic splitting of proteins by bacteria and fungi with the formation of malodorous, incompletely oxidized products.

Rotten material.

The state of being rotten.

Source: Wiktionary


Pu`tre*fac"tion, n. Etym: [L. putrefactio: cf. F. putréfaction. See Putrefy.]

1. The act or the process of putrefying; the offensive decay of albuminous or other matter.

Note: Putrefaction is a complex phenomenon involving a multiplicity of chemical reactions, always accompanied by, and without doubt caused by, bacteria and vibriones; hence, putrefaction is a form of fermentation, and is sometimes called putrefaction fermentative. Putrefaction is not possible under conditions that preclude the development of living organisms. Many of the products of putrefaction are powerful poisons, and are called cadaveric poisons, or ptomaĂŻnes.

2. The condition of being putrefied; also, that which putrefied. "Putrefaction's breath." Shelley.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 February 2025

ANOMALY

(noun) (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun)


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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