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View synonyms for

wither

1

[ with-er ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to shrivel; fade; decay:

    The grapes had withered on the vine.

    Synonyms: , , , , , ,

  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: ,

Wither

2

[ with-er ]

noun

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

wither

/ ˈɪðə /

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

  • ˈɾٳ, adjective
  • ˈɾٳԲ, adverb
  • ˈɾٳԲ, adjective
  • ˈɾٳ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • ɾٳİ·Ա noun
  • ɾٳİ· noun
  • ɾٳİ·Բ· adverb
  • ԴDz·ɾٳİ·Բ adjective
  • v·ɾٳİ adjective
  • ܲ·ɾٳİ adjective
  • ܲ·ɾٳİ·Բ 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

Examples have not been reviewed.

For communists, it was the state “withering away” so no one could be exploited by another.

From

“Something seems really great and then it withers. .... The real thing to make downtown work and feel safer is to have more people there.”

From

Over time, the economic power we’ve come to rely on will wither too.

From

Recent single 69, for example, is a thumping house track on which Taylor talks with withering candour about her sex life.

From

But that would break a different EU promise - to boost withering European arms industries by trying to buy EU when re-arming EU countries.

From

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