wither

[ with-er ]

See synonyms for wither on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to shrivel; fade; decay: The grapes had withered on the vine.
to lose the freshness of youth, as from age (often followed by away).

verb (used with object)

to make flaccid, shrunken, or dry, as from loss of moisture; cause to lose freshness, bloom, vigor, etc.: The drought withered the buds.
to affect harmfully: Reputations were withered by the scandal.

to abash, as by a scathing glance: a look that withered him.

Origin of wither

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, perhaps variant of weather (verb)

synonym study For wither

1. Wither, shrivel imply a shrinking, wilting, and wrinkling. Wither (of plants and flowers) is to dry up, shrink, wilt, fade, whether as a natural process or as the result of exposure to excessive heat or drought: Plants withered in the hot sun. Shrivel, used of thin, flat objects and substances, such as leaves, the skin, etc., means to curl, roll up, become wrinkled: The leaves shrivel in cold weather. Paper shrivels in fire.

Other words for wither

1	wrinkle, shrink, dry, decline, languish, droop, waste
5	humiliate, shame

See synonyms for wither on Thesaurus.com

Other words from wither

with·ered·ness, noun
with·er·er, noun
with·er·ing·ly, adverb
non·with·er·ing, adjective
o·ver·with·ered, adjective
un·with·ered, adjective
un·with·er·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with wither

whither, wither

Words Nearby wither

Other definitions for Wither (2 of 2)

Wither

[ with-er ]

noun

George, 1588–1667, English poet and pamphleteer.

Also With·ers [with-erz]. /ˈwɪð ərz/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wither in a sentence

Left to fight a losing battle in the Republican Party, as the recent CPAC confirmed, the withering pro-democracy faction is up against frightening odds.
American Democracy Can't Survive Unless the Far Right Is Marginalized. Here's How to Do It | Lee Drutman | March 19, 2021 | Time
The brass blade won’t rust or wear down and it won’t scratch your windshield wither.
Best ice scraper: Hassle-free ways to get rid of snow and ice | PopSci Commerce Team | February 26, 2021 | Popular-Science
The story he remembers hearing is that his grandfather wanted his father to become a partner in crime, but his dad refused, and their relationship withered.
He knew his grandfather was a mob boss. But was that the whole story? | Joe Heim | February 12, 2021 | Washington Post
The companies are not, of course, planning on withering away any time soon.
Oil companies’ losses in 2020 were staggering. And that was before the government focused on climate change. | Will Englund | February 4, 2021 | Washington Post
He has also unleashed withering dissents of weak enforcement actions and has been unafraid to go it alone.
The Return of the Regulators | by Jesse Eisinger | February 2, 2021 | ProPublica

Why this reluctant partnership might be best left to wither.
John Kerry Just Visited. But Should We Just Forget About India? | Tunku Varadarajan | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But as time goes by, Chloe falls ill and begins to wither away.
Michel Gondry on ‘Mood Indigo,’ Kanye West, and the 10th Anniversary of ‘Eternal Sunshine’ | Marlow Stern | July 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Will he, like Khal Drogo before him, wither away from an infected wound?
Game of Thrones’ ‘The Mountain and the Viper’ Recap: Trial by Combat and Inigo Montoya’s Revenge | Marlow Stern | June 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Three words and you were on the floor because their breath would wither your face.
Mel Brooks Is Always Funny and Often Wise in This 1975 Playboy Interview | Alex Belth | February 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And second, the right-wing political class, operatives and people at think tanks, who want the welfare state to wither away.
Republicans and Entitlements | Michael Tomasky | March 1, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of every field wither for the wickedness of them that dwell therein?
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | Various
In those glooms the sinews of mental energy wither with dying hope.
Madame Roland, Makers of History | John S. C. Abbott
Then I shall wither in single blessedness; I shall be unhappily not married instead of unhappily married.
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline | Jennie M. Drinkwater
Never let another child strike the boy, for that child would at once wither and die.
Stories the Iroquois Tell Their Children | Mabel Powers
Should I leave this incomparable flower to wither unseen on these rough mountains?
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI | Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for wither

wither

/ (ˈwɪðə) /

verb

(intr) (esp of a plant) to droop, wilt, or shrivel up
(intr often foll by away) to fade or waste: all hope withered away

(intr) to decay, decline, or disintegrate
(tr) to cause to wilt, fade, or lose vitality
(tr) to abash, esp with a scornful look
(tr) to harm or damage

Origin of wither

C14: perhaps variant of weather (vb); related to German verwittern to decay

Derived forms of wither

withered, adjective
witherer, noun
withering, adjective
witheringly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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