dwindle

verb

dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl 

dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-(d)liŋ 

-dᵊl-iŋ

intransitive verb

: to become steadily less : shrink

Their savings dwindled to nothing.

a dwindling population

transitive verb

: to make steadily less

Synonyms

• abate
• de-escalate
• decrease
• dent
• deplete
• diminish
• downscale
• downsize
• drop
• ease
• knock down
• lessen
• lower
• reduce

Choose the Right Synonym for dwindle

decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle mean to grow or make less.

decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity.

slowly decreased the amount of pressure

lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number.

has been unable to lessen her debt

diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total.

his visual acuity has diminished

reduce implies a bringing down or lowering.

you must reduce your caloric intake

abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount.

the storm abated

dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller.

their provisions dwindled slowly

Examples of dwindle in a Sentence

Our energy dwindled as the meeting dragged on.

The town's population is dwindling away.

Recent Examples on the Web

Aid organizations suspended their operations as food stockpiles dwindled. —Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 20 May 2025

As options dwindled, engineers revisited the primary roll thrusters to determine if they could be revived. —Scott Neuman, NPR, 20 May 2025

The school’s numbers dwindle as those seeking more conventional acting lessons fall away. —Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 18 May 2025

Minet’s experiences follow a worrying pattern of civil society from Australia and India to the U.K. reporting dwindling space and more legal hurdles to their advocacy. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 16 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably frequentative of dwine to waste away, from Middle English, from Old English dwīnan; akin to Old Norse dvīna to pine away, deyja to die — more at die

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for dwindle

• brindle
• grindal
• grindle
• kindle
• spindle
• swindle
• windle
• rekindle

Kids Definition

dwindle

verb

dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl 

dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-dliŋ 

-dᵊliŋ

: to make or become less