Wither
['wɪðə] or ['wɪðɚ]
Definition
(n.) To fade; to lose freshness; to become sapless; to become sapless; to dry or shrivel up.
(n.) To lose or want animal moisture; to waste; to pin/ away, as animal bodies.
(n.) To lose vigor or power; to languish; to pass away.
(v. t.) To cause to fade, and become dry.
(v. t.) To cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay, for want of animal moisture.
(v. t.) To cause to languish, perish, or pass away; to blight; as, a reputation withered by calumny.
Inputed by Bobbie
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. n. [1]. Shrivel, dry, dry up, lose freshness.[2]. Waste, decay, droop, languish, pine away, waste away.
Typed by Harrison
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Shrivel, dry, collapse, shrink, blast, blight
ANT:Swell, grow, freshen, luxuriate, wanton, refresh, expand, develop
Checked by Leroy
Definition
v.i. to fade or become dry: to lose freshness: to shrink: waste.—v.t. to cause to dry up: to cause to decay perish waste.—adj. With′ered dried up.—n. With′eredness.—adj. With′ering blasting blighting scorching.—n. With′ering-floor the drying-floor of a malt-house.—adv. With′eringly.
Editor: Ozzie
Examples
- Do not allow a trivial misunderstanding to wither the blossoms of spring, which, once put forth and blighted, cannot be renewed. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- The infantry with their muzzle-loading muskets could not keep up a steady enough fire to wither determined cavalry before it charged home. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- They wouldn't crush and wither, if you please, sir. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- In the end it will hurt too much, and they will wither because of it. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Age cannot wither me, nor custom stale my infinite variety: was my reply. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Let the old tree wither, continued Cedric, so the stately hope of the forest be preserved. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- Age or change should never wither it. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- She wished her hand had withered before she had done so. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- His face was as sharp as a hatchet, and the skin of it was as yellow and dry and withered as an autumn leaf. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- A grey dusty withered evening in London city has not a hopeful aspect. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- When they were withered I had dried them and put them in a book that I was fond of. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- Like the seed mentioned in the parable of the sower, some fell on good ground and grew to produce a bountiful harvest, but many withered by the wayside. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- His face is dark, like his hair and eyes; and, although he can't be more than six or eight and twenty, withered and haggard. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- What have you got to say for yourself, you withered old fence, eh? Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- I said, with withering irony, that it was sufficient to be skinned--I declined to be scalped. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Bergmann gave him a withering look of scorn, and said, 'Come here and I will show you. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Why this withering eloquence? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- And she was a leaf of the old great tree of knowledge that was withering now. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Diggory withdrew with an emphatic step, Wildeve's eye passing over his form in withering derision, as if he were no more than a heath-cropper. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- The tender plant is produced; but in so cold a soil, and so severe a climate, soon withers and dies. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The big gray was sweating and shivering a little and Robert Jordan patted him on the withers. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- Riding close to him I reached down from the saddle, and grasping his cartridge belt drew him up across the withers of my mount. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- Everything withers in the bud. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- And it withers my consciousness, somehow, it burns the pith of my mind. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Sent to a schoolmaster, refuses to tell his letters, and the schoolmaster going to whip him, his hand withers. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
Edited by Lester