withering

adj. wilting, fading; causing someone to be ashamed (as with a look of scorn)

v. wilt, fade; become shriveled; degenerate; cause to be ashamed (as with a look of scorn); harm; shrivel, dry

William Withering (March 17, 1741, Wellington, Shropshire - October 6, 1799) was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and the discoverer of digitalis.
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Noun
1. any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use)
(synonym) atrophy
(hypernym) weakening
(derivation) fade, wither
Adjective
1. wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction; "possessing annihilative power"; "a devastating hurricane"; "the guns opened a withering fire"
(synonym) annihilative, annihilating, devastating
(similar) destructive
2. making light of; "afire with annihilating invective"; "a devastating portrait of human folly"; "to compliments inflated I've a withering reply"- W.S.Gilbert
(synonym) annihilating, devastating
(similar) disrespectful

Verb
1. wither, especially with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled"
(synonym) shrivel, shrivel up, shrink
(hypernym) decrease, diminish, lessen, fall
(hyponym) atrophy
2. lose freshness, vigor, or vitality; "Her bloom was fading"
(synonym) fade
(hypernym) disappear, vanish, go away
(derivation) atrophy, withering

(p. pr. & vb. n.)
of Wither
  

(a.)
Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade.
  

Synonyms and related words:
Sanforizing, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, air-drying, anhydration, arrogant, atrophy, attenuation, baneful, biting, bitter, calamitous, cataclysmal, cataclysmic, catastrophic, caustic, clannish, cliquish, coming apart, consuming, consumption, consumptive, contemptuous, contumelious, corroding, corrosive, cracking, crumbling, cutting, deadly, decadent, declining, degenerate, dehumidification, dehydration, demolishing, demolitionary, depredatory, desiccation, desolating, destroying, destructive, deteriorating, devastating, disastrous, disdainful, disintegrating, doomful, drainage, draining, drooping, drying, drying up, dwindling, ebbing, effete, emaceration, emaciation, evaporation, exclusive, fading, failing, falling, fatal, fateful, flagging, fragmenting, fratricidal, going to pieces, haughty, incisive, insolation, internecine, keen, languishing, marcescence, marcescent, mordacious, mordant, mummification, nihilist, nihilistic, parching, penetrating, piercing, pining, preshrinkage, ravaging, regressive, retrograde, retrogressive, ruining, ruinous, scathing, scorching, scornful, searing, self-destructive, sharp, shrinkage, shrinking, shriveling, sinking, sliding, slipping, slumping, sneering, sniffy, snobbish, snobby, snooty, snotty, stabbing, stinging, subsiding, subversionary, subversive, suicidal, supercilious, tabetic, tart, thinning, toploftical, toplofty, trenchant, vandalic, vandalish, vandalistic, waning, wastage, waste, wasteful, wasting, wilting, worsening