Putrefaction (Noun)
Meaning 1
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".
Classification
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects.
Examples
- The city's underbelly was a breeding ground for moral putrefaction, where vice and corruption ran rampant.
- As the years went by, the once-noble institution succumbed to putrefaction, its values and principles rotting away like a festering wound.
- The luxury and excess of the elite class led to a state of putrefaction, where moral decay and corruption were the norm.
- The philosopher argued that moral putrefaction was a natural consequence of intellectual decay, as people abandoned reason and virtue for base desires.
- The city's putrefaction was evident in its brothels, its opium dens, and its general air of moral decay, a stark contrast to its former glory.
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Meaning 2
(biology) the process of decay caused by bacterial or fungal action.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- The scientist studied the putrefaction of organic matter in various environmental conditions to understand its impact on ecosystems.
- After a few days, the once-fresh corpse had begun to show signs of putrefaction, emitting a strong, unpleasant odor.
- Putrefaction occurs naturally in soil and oceans, where microorganisms break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients.
- In forensic science, understanding the rate of putrefaction can help investigators estimate the time of death in human remains.
- The unique combination of bacteria and enzymes in the insect's gut facilitated the putrefaction of organic matter, allowing it to feed on decaying flesh.
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Meaning 3
A state of decay usually accompanied by an offensive odor.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural processes.
Examples
- The once-clear lake had become a breeding ground for putrefaction, its waters now thick with rotting vegetation and dead fish.
- After a few days without refrigeration, the leftover food began to undergo putrefaction, filling the kitchen with a foul smell.
- The coroner carefully examined the body, noting the advanced state of putrefaction that had set in after several days in the hot sun.
- The abandoned slaughterhouse was a site of massive putrefaction, its walls and floors covered in rotting animal remains.
- As the floodwaters receded, they revealed a scene of putrefaction, with rotting debris and dead animals scattered throughout the streets.