Meaning & use
wither
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To dry up, shrink and lose freshness, as plants do without water or when they die.
Grammar: Usually no object (the flowers withered), but a cause can wither something: the frost withered the crop.
Patterns
- something withers
- wither away
The roses withered in the vase after a week.
Months of drought withered the corn in the fields.
Leaves wither and fall when the cold arrives.
verbintransitivefigurative
To grow weaker, smaller or less important gradually until little is left.
Grammar: Takes no object; often followed by 'away' and used for hopes, trade, interest or support.
Patterns
- wither away
- wither under something
Her enthusiasm withered after months of criticism.
Without new customers, the little shop slowly withered away.
Support for the plan began to wither.
verbtransitiveliterary
To make someone feel small or ashamed, especially with a hard, cold look or remark.
Grammar: Takes an object, most often in the pattern 'wither someone with a look'.
Patterns
- wither someone with a look
The teacher withered him with a single glance.
She could wither anyone with her sarcasm.
He withered under the manager's cold stare.
Word forms
| third person singular | withers |
|---|---|
| past tense | withered |
| past participle | withered |
| -ing form | withering |
Common combinations
- wither and die
- Without sunlight the seedlings will wither and die.
- wither away
- Her interest in the project withered away.
- wither on the vine
- A good idea can wither on the vine without funding.
- withering look
- He gave the noisy children a withering look.
- withered leaves
- Withered leaves covered the garden path.
- wither in the heat
- The lettuce withered in the heat of the afternoon.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wilt
- Wilt means a plant droops from lack of water but can often recover, while wither suggests drying up for good.
- shrivel
- Shrivel focuses on the wrinkled, shrunken look of something that has dried, while wither covers the whole decline.
- fade
- Fade means to lose color or strength gently, and it lacks the dried, lifeless picture that wither gives.
- dwindle
- Dwindle describes numbers or amounts becoming smaller, and unlike wither it does not suggest drying or decay.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: wither or whither?
wither vs whither
Whither is an old word meaning 'to where'; it sounds almost the same as wither, so check the spelling.
Practice
Without water, the tomato plants will soon ___.
Choose one answer.
Wither means to dry up and die, which is what happens without water. Thrive and flourish mean the opposite, and sprout means to begin to grow.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wither”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.