Oh luck! Like the moon, you steadily change, you always grow and then wither again.
Source: tatoeba (779309)
Wither
/ˈwɪðɚ/
Synonyms for "wither" (129 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (26)
Strong matches (39)
Related words (64)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: age, air-dry, anhydrate, atrophied, atrophies.
- Sentence evidence is available for wither, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, derived_reverse, opengloss, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "wither".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "wither"
Keep "wither" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "wither" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "wither", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "wither" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
16 entriesanatomical termbody partdeclinedecreasedehydrationdesiccationdeteriorationdiminishdisappeardisease symptomfallgo awaylessenplant conditionvanishweaken
More specific
11 entriescareers withercrops witherdecaydiebackdiminutiondorsal ridgeparchingshrivelingthoracic regionwaningwilting
Collocations
12 entriesat the withersheight at withershorse witherslarge withersplant withersprominent witherswither awaywither under pressurewithered leaveswithering droughtwithering lookwithers height
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
4 entriesTranslations
129 translations across 60 languages.
Ancient Greek
1 entries- μαραίνομαι verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Arabic
1 entries- صَعَقَ verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Armenian
1 entries- թառամել verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Aromanian
1 entries- vishtidzãscu verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Belarusian
1 entries- вя́нуць verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Bikol Central
1 entries- luyos verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Bulgarian
2 entries- изсъхвам verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- увяхвам verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Campidanese Sardinian
4 entries- accalamai verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- allaccanai verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- calamai verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- carigai verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Catalan
4 entries- marcir-se verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- musteir-se verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- mustiar-se verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- pansir-se verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Chechen
1 entries- маргӏалдола verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 枯萎 verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- 謝 /谢 verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Cornish
1 entries- gwedhra verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Czech
4 entries- ochromit verb ((transitive) to make helpless due to emotion)
- usychat verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- uvadat verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- vadnout verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Danish
1 entries- visne verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Dutch
2 entries- verdorren verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- verschrompelen verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Esperanto
2 entries- forvelki verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- velki verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Finnish
3 entries- jäykistää verb ((transitive) to make helpless due to emotion)
- kuihtua verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- lakastua verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
French
3 entries- flétrir verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- se dessécher verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- se faner verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Galician
4 entries- alfar verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- esmirrar verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- mirrar verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- murchar verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
German
4 entries- verdorren verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- vertrocknen verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- verwelken verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- welken verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Gothic
1 entries- 𐌲𐌰𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐌽𐌰𐌽 verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Greek
1 entries- μαραίνομαι verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Hungarian
4 entries- elfonnyad verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- elhervad verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- elszárad verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- lekonyul verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Ingrian
1 entries- räytyä verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Italian
4 entries- appassire verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- avvizzire verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- essiccare verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- inaridire verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Japanese
1 entries- 枯れる verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Korean
1 entries- 시들다 verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Latin
2 entries- marceō verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- ārefaciō verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Macedonian
1 entries- венеам verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Malayalam
1 entries- വാടുക verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Middle English
1 entries- welken verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Mongolian
1 entries- хатах verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Māori
1 entries- kautaka verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Ngazidja Comorian
1 entries- unyaya verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Northern Kurdish
1 entries- çilmisîn verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Occitan
3 entries- se marcir verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- se passir verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- se tressecar verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Old English
2 entries- clingan verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- sēarian verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Ottoman Turkish
1 entries- قورومق verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Persian
2 entries- افسرده کردن verb ((transitive) to make helpless due to emotion)
- پژمردن verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Polish
1 entries- więdnąć verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Portuguese
4 entries- decair verb ((transitive) to make helpless due to emotion)
- mirrar verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- mirrar-se verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- murchar murchar-se verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Romanian
4 entries- ofili verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- ofili verb ((transitive) to make helpless due to emotion)
- veșteji verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- veșteji verb ((transitive) to make helpless due to emotion)
Russian
4 entries- вя́нуть verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- завя́нуть verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- засо́хнуть verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- со́хнуть verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Sanskrit
1 entries- शुष्यति verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Sardinian
4 entries- allaccanàre verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- alleventare verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- allizare verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- carigare verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Sassarese
2 entries- allaccanà verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- appassì verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- sahnuti verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- venuti verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Slovene
2 entries- uveneti verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- veneti verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Spanish
3 entries- ajarse verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- decaer verb ((transitive) to make helpless due to emotion)
- marchitarse verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Swahili
1 entries- kukauka verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Swedish
4 entries- förtorka verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- förtvina verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- torka ut verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- tvina verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Tamil
1 entries- வாடு verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Thai
3 entries- เหี่ยว verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- เหี่ยวเฉา verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- เหี่ยวแห้ง verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Tocharian B
1 entries- klaiks- verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Turkish
2 entries- kurumak verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- solmak verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Ugaritic
1 entries- 𐎃𐎗𐎁 verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Ukrainian
2 entries- в'я́нути verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- зав'я́нути verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Vietnamese
2 entries- héo verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- úa verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Welsh
4 entries- crebachu verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- crino verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- ffiwgro verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
- gwywo verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Yup'ik
1 entries- nala- verb ((intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up)
Sample sentences
20 total sentences available.
If you don't water the plants, they will wither.
Source: tatoeba (1008799)
A mystery disease caused the grapes to wither on the vine.
Source: tatoeba (2951701)
When I have plucked thy rose, I cannot give it vital growth again. It must needs wither.
Source: tatoeba (5289699)
Showing 4 of 20 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "wither"?
Closest matches include age, air-dry, anhydrate, atrophied, atrophies.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "wither"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.