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

But, what’s causing them to wither and die—is it the water quality?

From Slate

“If we don’t have the legislation to do that, then our credentials to sit there will slowly wither away and we will lose investment, scientific talent and the boost to our economy to other countries.”

From BBC

Instead, the bookworm twins are forced to witness their father, Percy, further wither and drink himself away: He’s a former Parisian juggler in a wheelchair after being hit by a drunk driver.

From Los Angeles Times

We can and will debate in the years to come whether this is because we allowed local journalism to wither and die on the vine, or whether it’s because we allowed capitalism to swallow journalism, just as it swallowed state courts and local governments.

From Slate

Pummeled by these and similar crises from other climate-change hot spots, the international cooperation that lay at the heart of Washington’s world order for the past 90 years would simply wither, leaving a legacy even less visible than that block of the Berlin Wall in midtown Manhattan.

From Salon

Related Words

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