wither

UK: /ˈwɪðə^r/ US: /ˈwɪðɚ/ ,(wiᵺ′ər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

with•er /ˈwɪðɚ/   v. 

1. to (cause to) shrivel or fade: [no object]
   The plants are withering in the heat.
   [~ + object]
   The heat has withered the entire corn crop.
2. to render powerless;
   stun:
   [~ + object] She withered him with a scornful look.

with•er•ing•ly, adv. 

: She looked at him witheringly.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

with•er  (wiᵺ′ər), v.i. 

1. to shrivel;
   fade;
   decay:
   The grapes had withered on the vine.
2. to lose the freshness of youth, as from age (often fol. by away).

v.t. 

3. to make flaccid, shrunken, or dry, as from loss of moisture;
   cause to lose freshness, bloom, vigor, etc.:
   The drought withered the buds.
4. to affect harmfully:
   Reputations were withered by the scandal.
5. to abash, as by a scathing glance:
   a look that withered him.

• Middle English, perh. variant of weather (verb, verbal) 1250–1300

with′ered•ness, n. 
with′er•er, n. 
with′er•ing•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. wrinkle, shrink, dry, decline, languish, droop, waste.
  Wither, shrivel imply a shrinking, wilting, and wrinkling.
  Wither (of plants and flowers) is to dry up, shrink, wilt, fade, whether as a natural process or as the result of exposure to excessive heat or drought:
  Plants withered in the hot sun.
  Shrivel, used of thin, flat objects and substances, such as leaves, the skin, etc., means to curl, roll up, become wrinkled:
  The leaves shrivel in cold weather. Paper shrivels in fire.
• 5. humiliate, shame.

With•er  (wiᵺ′ər), n. 

1. Biographical George, 1588–1667, English poet and pamphleteer.

Also, With•ers  (wiᵺ′ərz). 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

wither / ˈwɪðə/ verb

1. (intransitive) (esp of a plant) to droop, wilt, or shrivel up
2. (intransitive) often followed by away: to fade or waste: all hope withered away
3. (intransitive) to decay, decline, or disintegrate
4. (transitive) to cause to wilt, fade, or lose vitality
5. (transitive) to abash, esp with a scornful look
6. (transitive) to harm or damage

Etymology: 14th Century: perhaps variant of weather (vb); related to German verwittern to decay

ˈwitherer noun

ˈwithering adjective

ˈwitheringly adverb