From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishputrefypu‧tre‧fy /ˈpjuːtrəfaɪ/ verb (putrefied, putrefying, putrefies) [intransitive] formalHB if a dead animal or plant putrefies, it decays and smells very bad —putrefaction /ˌpjuːtrəˈfækʃən/ noun [uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
putrefy• Two days dead, the body was beginning to putrefy and the stench made both Benjamin and myself gag.Origin putrefy (1400-1500) Latin putrefacere, from putrere ( → PUTRID) + facere “to make” 