| Main Entry: | wither |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | droop, decline |
Synonyms: |
atrophy, become stale, blast, blight, collapse, constrict, contract, decay, deflate, desiccate, deteriorate, die, disintegrate, dry, dry up, fade, fold, languish, perish, shrink, shrivel, wane, waste, waste away, wilt, wizen |
| Notes: | whither is an adverb meaning 'to what place' or a conjunction meaning 'to which place or condition'; wither is a verb meaning 'to dry up or shrivel' |
Antonyms: |
bloom, grow |
| Main Entry: | withering |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | shriveling |
Synonyms: |
decaying, drooping, fading, shrinking, wilting |
| Main Entry: | withering |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | devastating |
Synonyms: |
annihilating, annihilative, destructive |
| Main Entry: | biting |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | sarcastic |
Synonyms: |
acerbic, acrimonious, bitter, caustic, cutting, incisive, mordant, scathing, severe, sharp, stinging, trenchant, withering |
Antonyms: |
kind, nice, sweet |
| Main Entry: | blast |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | explode |
Synonyms: |
annihilate, blight, blow up, bomb, break up, burst, damage, dash, demolish, destroy, detonate, dynamite, injure, kill, ruin, shatter, shrivel, spoil, stunt, torpedo, wither, wreck |
| Main Entry: | blight |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | disease; plague |
Synonyms: |
affliction, bane, blot on the landscape, canker, contamination, corruption, curse, decay, dump, evil, eyesore, fungus, infestation, mildew, pest, pestilence, pollution, rot, scourge, sight, withering, woe |
Antonyms: |
blessing, boon, health, prosperity |
| Main Entry: | blight |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | ruin, destroy |
Synonyms: |
annihilate, blast, crush, damage, dash, decay, disappoint, foul up, frustrate, glitch up, injure, mar, mess up*, nip in the bud, nullify, shrivel, spoil, taint, trash*, wither, wreck |
Antonyms: |
aid, bless, guard, help, prosper, protect |
| Main Entry: | burn |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | be on fire; set on fire |
Synonyms: |
bake, be ablaze, blaze, brand, broil, calcine, cauterize, char, combust, conflagrate, cook, cremate, enkindle, flame, flare, flash, flicker, glow, heat, ignite, incinerate, kindle, light, melt, parch, reduce to ashes, rekindle, roast, scald, scorch, sear, set a match to, singe, smoke, smolder, toast, torch, wither |
Antonyms: |
cool, extinguish, put out, quench, smother, wet |
| Main Entry: | contract |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | condense |
Synonyms: |
abate, abbreviate, abridge, become smaller, clench, compress, confine, constrict, consume, curtail, decline, decrease, deflate, draw in, dwindle, ebb, edit, epitomize, evaporate, fall away, fall off, grow less, lessen, lose, narrow, omit, purse, recede, reduce, shrink, shrivel, subside, syncopate, take in, tighten, wane, waste, weaken, wither, wrinkle |
| Notes: | a compact is a formal agreement on rights and conduct, a treaty is a compact between nations, and a contract is a compact between two business entities |
Antonyms: |
amplify, dilate, enlarge, expand, extend, increase, lengthen, spread, stretch |
| Main Entry: | critical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | fault-finding, detracting |
Synonyms: |
analytical, belittling, biting, calumniatory, captious, carping, caviling, cavillous, censorious, censuring, choleric, condemning, critic, cutting, cynical, demanding, demeaning, derogatory, diagnostic, disapproving, discerning, discriminating, disparaging, exacting, exceptive, finicky, fussy, hairsplitting, humbling, hypercritical, lowering, nagging, niggling, nit-picking, overcritical, particular, penetrating, reproachful, sarcastic, satirical, scolding, severe, sharp, trenchant, withering |
Antonyms: |
complimentary, laudatory, praising |