wither

¹

[with-er]

verb (used without object)

1. to shrivel; fade; decay.

   The grapes had withered on the vine.

   Synonyms: waste, droop, languish, decline, dry, shrink, wrinkle

2. to lose the freshness of youth, as from age (often followed byaway ).

verb (used with object)

1. to make flaccid, shrunken, or dry, as from loss of moisture; cause to lose freshness, bloom, vigor, etc..

   The drought withered the buds.

2. to affect harmfully.

   Reputations were withered by the scandal.

3. to abash, as by a scathing glance.

   a look that withered him.

   Synonyms: shame, humiliate

Wither

²

Also With·ers

[with-er]

noun

1. George, 1588–1667, English poet and pamphleteer.

wither

/ ˈwɪðə /

verb

1. (intr) (esp of a plant) to droop, wilt, or shrivel up

2. to fade or waste

   all hope withered away

3. (intr) to decay, decline, or disintegrate

4. (tr) to cause to wilt, fade, or lose vitality

5. (tr) to abash, esp with a scornful look

6. (tr) to harm or damage

Other Word Forms

• witheredness noun
• witherer noun
• witheringly adverb
• nonwithering adjective
• overwithered adjective
• unwithered adjective
• unwithering adjective
• withered adjective
• withering adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wither¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wither¹

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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

It’s a marked improvement from 2024, when a record dry streak over the fall and winter left vegetation withered and primed to burn.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But few enter politics to see constituents endangered and withering.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That would be a far cry from last year, when Southern California grappled with a record dry streak over the fall and winter that left vegetation withered and primed to burn.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“And then,” Sharp said, “it just withered on the vine.”

Read more on Salon

For Prado, the project began with a simple question: how can this plant remain green and healthy when most others would wither within hours?

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• atrophy 
• decay 
• deflate 
• deteriorate 
• disintegrate 
• dry 
• fade 
• languish 
• perish 
• shrink 
• shrivel 
• wane 
• wilt