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View synonyms for wither

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 by away ).


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

[ 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. introften foll byaway 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
“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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Derived Forms

  • ˈwithered, adjective
  • ˈwitheringly, adverb
  • ˈwithering, adjective
  • ˈwitherer, noun
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Other Words From

  • 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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of wither1

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

Origin of wither1

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

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.

From Time

The brass blade won’t rust or wear down and it won’t scratch your windshield wither.

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.

The companies are not, of course, planning on withering away any time soon.

He has also unleashed withering dissents of weak enforcement actions and has been unafraid to go it alone.

Why this reluctant partnership might be best left to wither.

But as time goes by, Chloe falls ill and begins to wither away.

Will he, like Khal Drogo before him, wither away from an infected wound?

Three words and you were on the floor because their breath would wither your face.

And second, the right-wing political class, operatives and people at think tanks, who want the welfare state to wither away.

How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of every field wither for the wickedness of them that dwell therein?

In those glooms the sinews of mental energy wither with dying hope.

Then I shall wither in single blessedness; I shall be unhappily not married instead of unhappily married.

Never let another child strike the boy, for that child would at once wither and die.

Should I leave this incomparable flower to wither unseen on these rough mountains?

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