withering
adjective
[ ˈwɪðərɪŋ ]
• intended to make someone feel humiliated; scornful.
• "a withering look"
Similar:
scornful,
contemptuous,
full of contempt,
mocking,
sneering,
scathing,
stinging,
searing,
blistering,
biting,
devastating,
supercilious,
disdainful,
superior,
dismissive,
humiliating,
mortifying,
• (of heat) intense; scorching.
• "protective cover to escape withering heat"
wither
verb
• (of a plant) become dry and shrivelled.
• "the grass had withered to an unappealing brown"
• fall into decay or decline.
• "it is not true that old myths either die or wither away"
Similar:
diminish,
dwindle,
shrink,
lessen,
fade,
ebb (away),
wane,
weaken,
languish,
evaporate,
melt away,
disappear,
• humiliate (someone) with a scornful look or manner.
• "she withered him with a glance"
Origin:
late Middle English: apparently a variant of weather, ultimately differentiated for certain senses.
