I. ˈwithə(r) verb
( withered ; withered ; withering -th(ə)riŋ ; withers )
Etymology: Middle English widderen, widren; probably akin to Middle English wederen to weather — more at weather
intransitive verb
1. : to become dry and sapless : shrivel up
crops withered and crumbled to dust — American Guide Series: Texas
2. : to lose bodily moisture : become dried up : waste away in body
seeming to contract, to wither before their shocked eyes, with his cheeks and the hollows behind his ears all sunken in — Angus Mowat
3. : to lose vitality, force, or freshness : decay , decline , fade
the tariffs and prohibitions which caused industries to flourish or wither — Times Literary Supplement
— often used with away
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause (as a plant) to dry up : shrivel
the cold winds blew from the east, withering grass and plants and trees — Kathleen Freeman
b. : to subject (tea leaves) to a drying process
c. : to check the growth of (germinating barley) on the malting floor in brewing
2. : to cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay
age cannot wither her — Shakespeare
3.
a. : to cause to lose freshness, vitality, or force
control will wither science by destroying its precious essence of originality and spontaneity — R.P.Patterson
b. : to make speechless or incapable of action : paralyze , stun
withered him with a look — Dorothy Sayers
before she could wither him for his impertinence, he swept her on to the floor in a waltz — Anthony Glyn
II. noun
( -s )
: the process of withering tea leaves
black, well twisted leaf denotes a good wither — W.A.Ukers