Dwindle

['dwɪnd(ə)l] or ['dwɪndl]

Definition

(verb.) become smaller or lose substance; 'Her savings dwindled down'.

Inputed by Estella--From WordNet

Definition

(v. i.) To diminish; to become less; to shrink; to waste or consume away; to become degenerate; to fall away.

(v. t.) To make less; to bring low.

(v. t.) To break; to disperse.

(n.) The process of dwindling; dwindlement; decline; degeneracy.

Typed by Julie

Synonyms and Synonymous

v. n. [1]. Diminish, decrease, lessen, shrink, grow less, grow little.[2]. Sink, degenerate, decline, decay, fall away, fall off.

v. a. Diminish, decrease, lessen, make less.

Typist: Mason

Synonyms and Antonyms

SYN:Pine, waste, diminish, decrease, fall_off, decline, melt

ANT:Expand, enlarge, increase, grow, flourish, augment, develop

Edited by Hamilton

Definition

v.i. to grow less: to waste away: to grow feeble: to become degenerate.—v.t. to lessen.—n. decline.—n. Dwin′dlement.

Typist: Millie

Examples

Then, as the creature's legs appear and its tail is absorbed, it begins to use its lungs, and its gills dwindle and vanish. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Then it was that I began, if I may so Shakespearianly express myself, to dwindle, peak, and pine. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
I have said that the West is still moved by the tapering impulse of the pioneer, and I have ventured to predict that this would soon dwindle into an agricultural toryism. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
He felt that the end of time was come; he knew that one by one we should dwindle into nothingness. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
Towards the end of October it dwindled away, and was in some degree replaced by a typhus, of hardly less virulence. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
If he were ever a big old man, he has shrunk into a little old man; if he were always a little old man, he has dwindled into a less old man. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
It was not so with me; and the question of rank and right dwindled to insignificance in my eyes, when I pictured the scene of suffering Athens. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
Their retainers became consequently less numerous, and, by degrees, dwindled away altogether. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
In its light everything else dwindled and fell away from her. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
As the waters of the planet dried and the seas receded, all other resources dwindled until life upon the planet became a constant battle for survival. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
As the six evenings had dwindled away, to five, to four, to three, to two, I had become more and more appreciative of the society of Joe and Biddy. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
They became a weapon against the dwindling power of the Mongolian nomads, first in Turkestan and then across Siberia as far as the Amur. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Their relations with the dwindling empire of Constantinople remained for some centuries tolerantly hostile. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
With the downfall of the Mongolian (Yuan) dynasty (1368), the dwindling opportunity of the Christian missions passed altogether. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
Most of the other fires within the wide horizon were also dwindling weak. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
It is possible to trace the dwindling succession of many of the small Kans who became independent during this period, almost down to the present time. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
His small capital was dwindling. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
Europe is bankrupt, and people's pockets rustle with paper money whose purchasing power dwindles as they walk about with it. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.

Checked by Curtis