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dwindle - 6 dictionary results

dwin⋅dle

  [dwin-dl] verb, -dled, -dling.
Use dwindle 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 dwindle
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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Dwindle

Dwin"dle\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dwindled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dwindling.] [From OE. dwinen to languish, waste away, AS. dw[=i]nan; akin to LG. dwinen, D. dwijnen to vanish, Icel. dv[=i]na to cease, dwindle, Sw. tvina; of uncertain origin. The suffix -le, preceded by d excrescent after n, is added to the root with a diminutive force.] To diminish; to become less; to shrink; to waste or consume away; to become degenerate; to fall away.

Weary sennights nine times nine Shall he dwindle, peak and pine. --Shak.

Religious societies, though begun with excellent intentions, are said to have dwindled into factious clubs. --Swift.

Dwindle

Dwin"dle\, v. t. 1. To make less; to bring low.

Our drooping days are dwindled down to naught. --Thomson.

2. To break; to disperse. [R.] --Clarendon.

Dwindle

Dwin"dle\, n. The process of dwindling; dwindlement; decline; degeneracy. [R.] --Johnson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : dwindle
Spanish: disminuir,
German: schwinden,
Japanese: 小さくなる
More Translations »

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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