wither

wither
witheredness, n.witherer, n.witheringly, adv.
/widh"euhr/, v.i.
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).
v.t.
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.
[1250-1300; ME, perh. var. of WEATHER (v.)]
Syn. 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.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • wither — wither, shrivel, wizen mean to lose or cause to lose freshness and smoothness of appearance. Wither implies a loss of vital moisture (as sap or body fluids) with consequent fading or drying up and ultimate decay or death {withered leaves}… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Wither — est un super héros mutant appartenant à l’univers de Marvel Comics. Il est apparu pour la première fois dans New Mutants vol.2 #3, en 2003. Origines Le jeune Kevin Ford développa un pouvoir mortel à la puberté, tuant son père par accident. Il… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wither — With er, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Withered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Withering}.] [OE. wideren; probably the same word as wederen to weather (see {Weather}, v. & n.); or cf. G. verwittern to decay, to be weather beaten, Lith. vysti to wither.] [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Wither — With er, v. t. 1. To cause to fade, and become dry. [1913 Webster] The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth. James i. 11. [1913 Webster] 2. To cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wither — [with′ər] vi. [ME widren, var. of wederen, lit., to weather, expose to the weather < weder, WEATHER] 1. to dry up, as from great heat; shrivel; wilt: said esp. of plants 2. to lose vigor or freshness; become wasted or decayed 3. to weaken;… …   English World dictionary

  • wither — index decay, decline (fall), degenerate, diminish, languish, perish Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton …   Law dictionary

  • Wither —   [ wɪȓə], George, englischer Dichter, * Bentworth (County Hampshire) 11. 6. 1588, ✝ London 2. 5. 1667; schrieb pastorale, didaktische und satirische Lyrik. Ein gegen den Königshof gerichtetes spöttisches Gedicht (»Abuses stript and whipt«, 1613) …   Universal-Lexikon

  • wither — 1530s, 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. weather)). Cf. Ger. verwittern to become weather beaten, from Witter weather …   Etymology dictionary

  • wither — [v] droop, decline atrophy, become stale, blast, blight, collapse, constrict, contract, decay, deflate, desiccate, deteriorate, die, disintegrate, dry, dry up, fade, fold, languish, perish, shrink, shrivel, wane, waste, waste away, wilt, wizen;… …   New thesaurus

  • wither — ► VERB 1) (of a plant) become dry and shrivelled. 2) become shrunken or wrinkled from age or disease. 3) fall into decay or decline. 4) (withering) scornful. DERIVATIVES witheringly adverb. ORIGIN …   English terms dictionary

  • wither — UK [ˈwɪðə(r)] / US [ˈwɪðər] verb Word forms wither : present tense I/you/we/they wither he/she/it withers present participle withering past tense withered past participle withered 1) wither or wither away [intransitive] to become weaker or… …   English dictionary

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