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wither

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

(verb)

When you become old and sickly and unable to walk, this is an example of a situation where you wither away.
When a plant isn't watered and it dries up, this is an example of wither.
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

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

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

transitive verb

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

Related Forms:

witheringly adverb

See wither in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb with·ered, with·er·ing, with·ers

verb, intransitive

To dry up or shrivel from or as if from loss of moisture.
To lose freshness; droop.

verb, transitive

To cause to shrivel or fade.
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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