Withering

adj, name, noun, verb

adj, name, noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The process by which something withers.

    "Spiritual witherings and decayings are opposite to the word of God."

  2. 2
    any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use) wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of wither form-of, gerund, participle, present
Adjective
  1. 1
    Tending to destroy, devastate, overwhelm, or cause complete destruction.

    "The D-Day troops came under withering fire."

  2. 2
    Diminishing rapidly.

    "The playboy seemed oblivious to his withering fortune as he continued in his decadent lifestyle."

  3. 3
    Tending to make someone feel small; scornful in a mortifying way.

    "Jane's mother in law gave her a withering look."

Adjective
  1. 1
    wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction wordnet
  2. 2
    making light of wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
atrophyacerbacerbateacerbicacidacidic

Example

More examples

"Tom finished with a withering burst and won the race by the smallest of margins."

Etymology

From wither + -ing.

Related phrases

withering abalone syndromewithering away of the state

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.