WITHER DEFINITIONS - 11 definitions found
wither v 1: wither, as with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled" [syn: shrivel, shrivel up, shrink, wither] 2: lose freshness, vigor, or vitality; "Her bloom was fading" [syn: fade, wither] wither writhe whiter Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) Wither biographical name George 1588-1667 English poet & pamphleteer Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) wither I. verb (withered; withering) Etymology: Middle English widren; probably akin to Middle English weder weather Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1. to become dry and sapless; especially to shrivel from or as if from loss of bodily moisture 2. to lose vitality, force, or freshness <public support for the bill is withering> transitive verb 1. to cause to wither 2. to make speechless or incapable of action ; stun <withered him with a look — Dorothy Sayers> II. noun Date: 1607 chiefly British withers Oxford English Reference Dictionary
English Explanatory Dictionary wither ˈwɪðə v. 1 tr. & intr. (often foll. by up) make or become dry and shrivelled (withered flowers). 2 tr. & intr. (often foll. by away) deprive of or lose vigour, vitality, freshness, or importance. 3 intr. decay, decline. 4 tr. a blight with scorn etc. b (as withering adj.) scornful (a withering look). øøwitheringly adv. [ME, app. var. of WEATHER differentiated for certain senses] Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 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.] 1. To fade; to lose freshness; to become sapless; to become sapless; to dry or shrivel up. Shall he hot pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? --Ezek. xvii. 9. 2. To lose or want animal moisture; to waste; to pin? away, as animal bodies. This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered. --Shak. There was a man which had his hand withered. --Matt. xii. 10. Now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave. --Dryden. 3. To lose vigor or power; to languish; to pass away. ``Names that must not wither.'' --Byron. States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane. --Cowper. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Wither \With"er\, v. t. 1. To cause to fade, and become dry. The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth. --James i. 11. 2. To cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay, for want of animal moisture. ``Age can not wither her.'' --Shak. Shot forth pernicious fire Among the accursed, that withered all their strength. --Milton. 3. To cause to languish, perish, or pass away; to blight; as, a reputation withered by calumny. The passions and the cares that wither life. --Bryant. Soule\'s Dictionary of English Synonyms wither v. n. 1. Shrivel, dry, wilt, dry up, lose freshness. 2. Waste, decay, droop, languish, pine, pine away, waste away. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 83 Moby Thesaurus words for "wither": Sanforize, age, air-dry, anhydrate, attenuate, bake, blot, brush, burn, cave in, cheat the undertaker, collapse, constrict, consume, contract, cure, decline, deflate, dehumidify, dehydrate, desiccate, diminish, dodder, drain, droop, dry, dry up, dwindle, emacerate, emaciate, evaporate, exsiccate, fade, fade away, fail, fire, flag, fold, get along, get on, grow old, insolate, kiln, languish, lose strength, macerate, mummify, mummy, parch, peak, pine, preshrink, rub, run down, scorch, sear, shake, shrink, shrivel, sink, smoke, soak up, sponge, sun, sun-dry, swab, thin, torrefy, totter, towel, turn gray, turn white, wane, waste, waste away, weaken, weazen, welter, wilt, wipe, wither away, wizen, wrinkle |
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