wither

To wither is to shrivel up, to become dry, or to weaken and droop.

(verb)

  1. When you become old and sickly and unable to walk, this is an example of a situation where you wither away.
  2. When a plant isn't watered and it dries up, this is an example of wither.
  3. When interest in a social program wanes and it begins to stop being funded and operated, this is an example of a situation where the program withers away.

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See wither in Webster's New World College Dictionary

intransitive verb

  1. to dry up, as from great heat; shrivel; wilt: said esp. of plants
  2. to lose vigor or freshness; become wasted or decayed
  3. to weaken; languish: affection that soon withered

Origin: ME widren, var. of wederen, lit., to weather, expose to the weather < weder, weather

transitive verb

  1. to cause to wither
  2. to cause to quail or feel abashed, as by a scornful glance

Related Forms:

See wither in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb with·ered, with·er·ing, with·ers
verb, intransitive
  1. To dry up or shrivel from or as if from loss of moisture.
  2. To lose freshness; droop.
verb, transitive
  1. To cause to shrivel or fade.
  2. To render speechless or incapable of action; stun: The teacher withered the noisy student with a glance.

Origin:

Origin: Alteration of Middle English widderen

Origin: , perhaps variant of wederen, to weather

Origin: , from weder, weather; see weather

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