1
as in to dry
to lose liveliness, force, or freshness
shortly after the moon landing, interest in the space program withered the old man seemed to wither suddenly upon turning 80
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to fade
to lose bodily strength or vigor
if he's left on his own, he'll just wither and die
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wither
Looking for container garden ideas that won't wither as soon as the first hint of summer rolls around?
—
Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2026
In that situation, cellular life would wither.
—Quanta Magazine, 18 Feb. 2026
In recent decades, Murdoch, now 94, has subjected his oldest adult children to withering takedowns and has also pitted them against one another.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 18 Feb. 2026
Trees near their sprinklers withered and died.
—Nick Bowlin, The Frontier, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wither
Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2026
In that situation, cellular life would wither.
—Quanta Magazine, 18 Feb. 2026
In recent decades, Murdoch, now 94, has subjected his oldest adult children to withering takedowns and has also pitted them against one another.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 18 Feb. 2026
Trees near their sprinklers withered and died.
—Nick Bowlin, The Frontier, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wither
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wither
Verb
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Many of our daily hygiene routines are dependent on the energy grid—warm water to bathe in and wash your face with, lights to do your makeup, electricity to dry your hair.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
24 Feb. 2026
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Vouchers will be exchangeable for a laundry card preloaded with $8 in credit, which will cover two wash cycles at any temperature and three 10-minute drying cycles.—
Victoria Le,
Oc Register,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Paramount’s assets, including MTV, Nickelodeon and the Melrose Avenue movie studio, have been fading.—
Meg James,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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Memories are fading, potential witnesses are dying and the main person of interest is now in his 70s.—
Hilary Whiteman,
CNN Money,
28 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Slater is a virtuosic physical actor, and his evocation of the mime’s precision, silliness, and grace—the elastic faces, the acrobatic tumbles, the fingers that bloom into flowers, then wilt, then bloom again — is painstaking and loving in its observance.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
23 Feb. 2026
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Foliage may also wilt or turn yellow when plants receive too much or too little water.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While speculation has focused on the possibility of two Republicans advancing, the more likely scenario is that only one GOP candidate reaches November — and does so weakened.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Feb. 2026
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The effect occurs because friction between grains drops sharply under fast loads, weakening the internal force networks that normally support the material.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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In 1986, when the Sox were looking to move from Bridgeport to Addison, Reinsdorf addressed his sagging reputation in a Tribune interview.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
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The moisturizer’s proprietary Hexyl-R Complex does most of the heavy lifting; according to the brand, the technology contains a naturally occurring lipid that helps improve the appearance of age spots, sagging skin, fine lines, and wrinkles.—
Erika Reals,
InStyle,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ferris, who pitched 1-2/3 scoreless innings in his second Cactus League start Saturday in the Dodgers’ 7-6 split-squad loss to the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium, noticed the contrast going from the Cubs to the Dodgers.—
Jack Vita,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
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The debt markets going pencils down is a huge risk to an M&A market that looks poised to rip.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The Department of Justice filed federal lawsuits on Thursday against five states for failing to answer a request for complete voter registration lists.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
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Many earlier drives failed because target organisms developed mutations, thus preventing CRISPR cutting.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wither.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wither. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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