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• n  any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use)
• v  wither, as with a loss of moisture
• v  lose freshness, vigor, or vitality
• s  wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction
  the guns opened a withering fire
• s  making light of
  to compliments inflated I've a withering reply"- W.S.Gilbert

• The Met's Volpe finally lost patience with her rehearsal shenanigans -- which included lateness and even absence, as well as withering criticism of her fellow performers and flaky .
• The crops are withering in the fields that we pass.
• The pill-popping matriarch has echoes of O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night; the withering sarcasm recalls Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

• atrophy
• shrivel
• shrivel up
• shrink
• wither
• fade
• annihilative
• annihilating
• devastating

News & Articles

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• Gov. Rick Perry’s vetoes of ethics bills, investigation funding draw loud protests
  AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry came under withering criticism Friday after using his veto to eliminate two bipartisan ethics bills and erase all state funding for the prosecutor’s unit that is investigating his prized cancer research fund.
  June 15, 2013 - Dallas Morning News
• Rick Perry’s vetoes of ethics bills, investigation funding draw loud protests
  AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry came under withering criticism Friday after using his veto to eliminate two bipartisan ethics bills and erase all state funding for the prosecutor’s unit that is investigating his prized cancer research fund.
  June 15, 2013 - Dallas Morning News
• Perry's vetoes of ethics bills, investigation funding draw loud protests
  AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry came under withering criticism Friday after using his veto to eliminate two bipartisan ethics bills and also erase all state funding for the prosecutor’s unit that is investigating his prized cancer research fund.
  June 15, 2013 - Dallas Morning News

Quotes

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• Joe Biden in New York Times
  They have a shrinking population base,Mr. Biden told The Wall Street Journal. "They have a withering economy. They have a banking sector and structure that is not likely to be able to withstand the next 15 years. They're in a situation...
• Charles Schumer in 조선일보(영문판)
  The president and the White House have repeatedly ignored repeated shots across the bow of our economy: rising foreclosures, falling home prices, withering consumer confidence, and record oil company profits,Schumer said. "None of them are...
• James Henry Webb in International Herald Tribune
  I'm honoured to stand alongside this man, a man of great intellect who over the past 16 months has impressed all of us as he stood up to sometimes withering attacks with measured responses, unshakable composure,Webb said.