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Dwindled

 - 3 dictionary results

dwin⋅dle

  [dwin-dl] verb, -dled, -dling.
Use Dwindled in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to become smaller and smaller; shrink; waste away: His vast fortune has dwindled away.
2. to fall away, as in quality; degenerate.
–verb (used with object)
3. to make smaller and smaller; cause to shrink: Failing health dwindles ambition.
Origin:
1590–1600; dwine (now dial.) to waste away (ME; OE dwīnan; c. MD dwīnen to languish, ON dvīna to pine away) + -le

Synonyms:
1. diminish, decline, lessen, wane. See decrease. 3. lessen.

Antonyms:
1. increase. 3. magnify.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Dwindled
dwin·dle   (dwĭn'dl)   
v.   dwin·dled, dwin·dling, dwin·dles

v.   intr.
To become gradually less until little remains.
v.   tr.
To cause to dwindle. See Synonyms at decrease.

[Frequentative of Middle English dwinen, to waste away, from Old English dwīnan, to shrink; see dheu-2 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dwindle 
1596, apparently dim. and freq. of M.E. dwinen "waste away, fade, vanish," from O.E. dwinan, from P.Gmc. *dwinanan (cf. Du. dwijnen "to vanish").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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