wither
[with -er]
- to shrivel; fade; decay: The grapes had withered on the vine.
- to lose the freshness of youth, as from age (often followed by away).
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- 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.
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Origin of wither
Synonyms
See more synonyms for wither on Thesaurus.com1. wrinkle, shrink, dry, decline, languish, droop, waste. 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. 5. humiliate, shame.
Wither
[with -er]
- George,1588–1667, English poet and pamphleteer.
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Also With·ers [with -erz] /ˈwɪð ərz/.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for wither
Contemporary Examples
Why this reluctant partnership might be best left to wither.
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
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 RevengeMarlow Stern
June 2, 2014
And second, the right-wing political class, operatives and people at think tanks, who want the welfare state to wither away.
Yet when it comes to Palestinians under Israel's control, the humanistic approach to children's welfare tends to wither.
Historical Examples
We never see Him bring the bud to the eve of blossoming just to wither it.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
Keats and Wither will serve as examples with which to finish our argument.
The LyricJohn Drinkwater
In spite of all that has been said Keats takes higher rank as poet than Wither?
The LyricJohn Drinkwater
They will not wither in the least if kept out of direct sunshine for a few days.
The Mayflower, January, 1905Various
If I had I would use it all to scorch and wither this talking of surrender.
Strife (First Series Plays)John Galsworthy
wither
- (intr) (esp of a plant) to droop, wilt, or shrivel up
- (intr often foll by away) to fade or wasteall 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
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Word Origin
C14: perhaps variant of weather (vb); related to German verwittern to decay
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
Word Origin and History for wither
v.
1530s, alteration of Middle English wydderen "dry up, shrivel" (c.1300), apparently a differentiated and special use of wederen "to expose to weather" (see weather). Cf. German verwittern "to become weather-beaten," from Witter "weather."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper