withered; withering
ˈwit͟h-riŋ,
ˈwi-t͟hə-
1
: to become dry and sapless
especially
: to shrivel from or as if from loss of bodily moisture
2
: to lose vitality, force, or freshness
public support for the bill is withering
1
: to cause to wither
2
: to make speechless or incapable of action : stun
withered him with a look—
Dorothy Sayers
Dorothy SayersExamples of wither in a Sentence
Verb
The plants withered and died.
shortly after the moon landing, interest in the space program withered
Recent Examples on the Web
Kevin Sack, Time, 3 June 2025
The lawsuit included a withering 4,500-word letter Tomarken wrote to the Academy’s Board of Trustees that essentially said she was being blamed for the financial losses the Academy took in holding the Grammy Awards in New York that year, rather than its usual home base of Los Angeles.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 27 May 2025
But withering reviews — its score on Rotten Tomatoes was 14 percent — combined with lethal word-of-mouth torpedoed the title, which was financed by Live Nation and distributed by Lionsgate as a companion piece to The Weeknd’s studio album of the same time.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
Instead of letting the lemon tree's leaves fall and wither, the culinary team makes oils to use in Scholtmeyer’s imaginative cooking.
—Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wither
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Verb
Personnel and educational policies that recognize the value of diversity and acknowledge past injustices are under withering assault.
—Kevin Sack, Time, 3 June 2025
The lawsuit included a withering 4,500-word letter Tomarken wrote to the Academy’s Board of Trustees that essentially said she was being blamed for the financial losses the Academy took in holding the Grammy Awards in New York that year, rather than its usual home base of Los Angeles.
—Jem Aswad, Variety, 27 May 2025
But withering reviews — its score on Rotten Tomatoes was 14 percent — combined with lethal word-of-mouth torpedoed the title, which was financed by Live Nation and distributed by Lionsgate as a companion piece to The Weeknd’s studio album of the same time.
—Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
Instead of letting the lemon tree's leaves fall and wither, the culinary team makes oils to use in Scholtmeyer’s imaginative cooking.
—Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wither
Cite this Entry
“Wither.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wither. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.
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