Showing results for "withering"

• present participle of wither.

withering

American  

[with-er-ing] / ˈwɪð ər ɪŋ /

adjective

1. scathing; deeply humiliating; contemptuous.

2. causing harm or loss of vitality; damaging.

3. (of plants) wilting or shriveling up, such as from disease or lack of moisture.

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Explanation

Withering is the process of becoming weaker. You can watch the withering of a flower bouquet in water — over the days and weeks, the blossoms become droopy and faded. You might talk about the withering of trees in a drought or the withering of people's bank accounts during an economic recession. Withering can also be used as an adjective, to describe something with a terrible, destructive strength, like a withering hurricane. It comes from the verb wither, to dry up or shrivel, from the Old English word wydderen, which is a variation on wederen, "to expose to the weather."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

withering

And in return, they surely will win a third consecutive championship against a withering and overmatched group of pretenders that could add Skubal only in their dreams.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

All three organisations, in their own way, offered a withering assessment of how Fifa is being run under Infantino.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Among her most beloved songs are the Bond theme Nobody Does It Better and Legend In Your Own Time, a withering portrait of an arrogant man.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Eighty years ago, though the Arsenal of Democracy had vanquished the Axis and weathered a withering Depression, the recovering American people found themselves rich in bills but short on laughs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

She casts a withering look at a blond-haired older boy, one of the troublemakers.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline