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

Derived Forms

• ˈwithered, adjective
• ˈwitheringly, adverb
• ˈwithering, adjective
• ˈwitherer, noun

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

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

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.

From 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.

From Washington Post

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

From Washington Post

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

From ProPublica

Why this reluctant partnership might be best left to wither.

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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