dwindle
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Dwindle — Dwin dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Dwindled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Dwindling}.] [From OE. dwinen to languish, waste away, AS. dw[=i]nan; akin to LG. dwinen, D. dwijnen to vanish, Icel. dv[=i]na to cease, dwindle, Sw. tvina; of uncertain origin. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
dwindle — UK US /ˈdwɪndl/ verb [I] ► to gradually become less, smaller, or lower in level: dwindle from sth to sth »The municipality s population has dwindled from 40,000 to 24,000. »dwindling funds/resources/stocks »Companies are having recruitment… … Financial and business terms
Dwindle — Dwin dle, v. t. 1. To make less; to bring low. [1913 Webster] Our drooping days are dwindled down to naught. Thomson. [1913 Webster] 2. To break; to disperse. [R.] Clarendon. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Dwindle — Dwin dle, n. The process of dwindling; dwindlement; decline; degeneracy. [R.] Johnson. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
dwindle — 1590s, apparently diminutive and frequentative of M.E. dwinen waste away, fade, vanish, from O.E. dwinan, from P.Gmc. *dwinanan (Cf. Du. dwijnen to vanish, O.N. dvina, Dan. tvine, Low Ger. dwinen), from PIE *dheu (3) to die (see DIE (Cf. die) … Etymology dictionary
dwindle — diminish, lessen, *decrease, reduce, abate Analogous words: wane, ebb, *abate, subside: attenuate, extenuate, *thin: *moderate: disappear (see affirmative verb at APPEAR, 1) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
dwindle — [v] waste away; taper off abate, bate, become smaller, close, contract, decay, decline, decrease, die away, die down, die out, diminish, drain, drop, ebb, fade, fall, grow less, lessen, peter out*, pine, shrink, shrivel, sink, slack off*, subside … New thesaurus
dwindle — ► VERB ▪ diminish gradually. ORIGIN from Scots and dialect dwine «fade away» … English terms dictionary
dwindle — [dwin′dəl] vi., vt. dwindled, dwindling [freq. of obs. dwine, to languish, fade < ME dwinen < OE dwīnan, akin to ON dvína < IE base * dheu : see DIE1] to keep on becoming or making smaller or less; diminish; shrink SYN. DECREASE … English World dictionary
dwindle — v. (D; intr.) to dwindle (away) to (to dwindle to nothing) * * * [ dwɪndl] (D; intr.) to dwindle (away) to (to dwindle to nothing) … Combinatory dictionary
