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withering

 - 4 dictionary results

with⋅er

  [with-er]
Use withering in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to shrivel; fade; decay: The grapes had withered on the vine.
2. to lose the freshness of youth, as from age (often fol. by away).
–verb (used with object)
3. to make flaccid, shrunken, or dry, as from loss of moisture; cause to lose freshness, bloom, vigor, etc.: The drought withered the buds.
4. to affect harmfully: Reputations were withered by the scandal.
5. to abash, as by a scathing glance: a look that withered him.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME, perh. var. of weather (v.)

Related forms:
with⋅ered⋅ness, noun
with⋅er⋅er, noun
with⋅er⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. wrinkle, shrink, dry, decline, languish, droop, waste. 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. 5. humiliate, shame.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To withering
with·er   (wĭth'ər)   
v.   with·ered, with·er·ing, with·ers

v.   intr.

  1. To dry up or shrivel from or as if from loss of moisture.

  2. To lose freshness; droop.

v.   tr.

  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.


[Alteration of Middle English widderen, perhaps variant of wederen, to weather, from weder, weather; see weather.]
with·er·ing   (wĭth'ər-ĭng)   
adj.  Tending to overwhelm or destroy; devastating: withering sarcasm.
with'er·ing·ly adv.
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

wither 
1535, alteration of M.E. wydderen "dry up, shrivel" (c.1300), apparently a differentiated and special use of wederen "to expose to weather" (see weather). Cf. Ger. verwittern "to become weather-beaten," from Witter "weather."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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