withered; withering
ˈwit͟h-riŋ,
ˈwi-t͟hə-
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
1
: to cause to wither
2
: to make speechless or incapable of action : stun
withered him with a look—
Dorothy Sayers
Dorothy SayersExamples of wither in a Sentence
Verb
The plants withered and died.
shortly after the moon landing, interest in the space program withered
Recent Examples on the Web
Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
But by early 2024, Gay had come under withering criticism inside and outside the institution after she was called to testify about antisemitism on campus.
—Andy Rose, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
The older vocabulary of life-defining commitments and meaning-making projects continued to wither while a new lexicon took hold: self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-love.
—January Lavoy Krish Seenivasan Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Others say Alhurra withered under an unclear mandate that never allowed the channel to find its identity and therefore audiences.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wither
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Verb
But her nomination by a Democratic president withered away as Florida’s two Republican senators blocked it amid a divisive presidential election campaign.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 8 May 2025
But by early 2024, Gay had come under withering criticism inside and outside the institution after she was called to testify about antisemitism on campus.
—Andy Rose, CNN Money, 6 May 2025
The older vocabulary of life-defining commitments and meaning-making projects continued to wither while a new lexicon took hold: self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-love.
—January Lavoy Krish Seenivasan Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Others say Alhurra withered under an unclear mandate that never allowed the channel to find its identity and therefore audiences.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wither
Cite this Entry
“Wither.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wither. Accessed 18 May. 2025.
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