Search the Dictionary

An object of scorn, mockery, or derision. The scoff of withered age and beardless youth. Cowper.

To wither; to dry up. Shak.

[OE. seer, AS. seár (assumed) fr. seárian to wither; akin to D. zoor dry, LG. soor, OHG. soren to to wither, Gr. sush) to dry, to wither, Zend hush to dry. sq. root152. Cf. Austere, Sorrel, a.] Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to leaves. Milton. I have lived long enough; my way of life Is fall'n into the sear…

Dry; withered. Same as Sear. But with its sound it shook the sails That were so thin and sere. Coleridge.

ooth of a shark; -- so called from its resemblance to a tongue with its root. -- Serpent withe (Bot.), a West Indian climbing plant (Aristolochia odoratissima). -- Tree serpent (Zoöl.), any species of African serpents belonging to the family Dendrophidæ.

make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use of; to wear out. Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak.

ettle; to establish. [R.] I myself, though meanest stated, And in court now almost hated. Wither. Who calls the council, states the certain day. Pope.

Done by stealth; accomplished clandestinely; unperceived; secret; furtive; sly. [Withered murder] with his stealthy pace, . . . Moves like a ghost. Shak.

a tree or shrub; also, any stem or branch of a tree, of any size, cut for fuel or timber. Withered sticks to gather, which might serve Against a winter's day. Milton.

streamed tears. It may so please that she at length will stream Some dew of grace into my withered heart. Spenser.

Quickly. See Swithe. [Obs.]

Withering, or wasting away.

A howling, as of a dog or wolf; a wailing. He may fright others with his ululation. Wither.

Dried up; withered by heat. [Obs.] "My tongue . . . unparched." Crashaw.

Green; not withered. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

To wither; to fade. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

To wane; to wither. [Obs.]

Weak; withered; shrunk. [Obs.] "A wearish hand." Ford. A little, wearish old man, very melancholy by nature. Burton.

Thin; sharp; withered; wizened; as, a weazen face. They were weazen and shriveled. Dickens.

A hardy garden shrub (Diervilla Japonica) belonging to the Honeysuckle family, with withe or red flowers. It was introduced from China.