Meanings
present singular third person dwindles · participle present dwindling · participle past dwindled · past dwindled
- intransitiveTo decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or intensity.
dwindle away
5 more examples
Their supplies began to dwindle after a week.
Interest in the project slowly dwindled.
dwindle to nothing
dwindle steadily
1802, T. Paynell (translator), Erasmus, The Complaint of Peace [E]very thing that was improving gradually degenerates and dwindles away to nothing, […]
Synonyms: fade away, peter out, spin down, trail off, wane, wanse
- figurativelyintransitiveTo fall away in quality; degenerate, sink.
The larger the empire, the more dwindles the mind of the citizen.
1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress4 more examples
VVearie Seu'nights, nine times nine, / Shall he dvvindle, peake, and pine: […]
c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 132, column 1Religious Societies, though begun with excellent Intention, and by Perſons of true Piety, have dwindled into factious Clubs; […]
1709, [Jonathan Swift], A Project for the Advancement of Religion, and the Reformation of Manners. […], London: […] Benj[amin] Tooke, […], →OCLC, page 44The flattery of his friends began to dwindle into simple approbation.
1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], chapter III, in The Vicar of Wakefield: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Salisbury, Wiltshire: […] B. Collins, for F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC[I]nfected tulips are weakened by the viruses that cause the very patterns and swirls that fascinated horticulturists and investors in the first place. Such bulbs tend to dwindle away instead of fattening up and producing offsets.
2014 September 26, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they vanish for good [print version: Inspired by a living bulb archive, 27 September 2014, p. G5]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening) - transitiveTo lessen; to bring low.
Our drooping days are dwindled down to nought.
a. 1749 (date written), James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768, →OCLC - To break up or disperse.
there were only five hundred foot and three hundred horse left with him, for the blocking of Plymouth; the rest were dwindled away
1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, (please specify |book=I to XVI), in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or intensity.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*dwīnaną
- Proto-West Germanic*dwīnan
- Old Englishdwīnan“to waste away”
- Middle Englishdwynen
- Englishdwindle
Frequentative form of dwine, from Middle English dwynen, from Old English dwīnan (“to waste away”), from Proto-West Germanic *dwīnan, from Proto-Germanic *dwīnaną. It is equivalent to dwine + -le, akin to Old Norse dvena, dvína, Dutch verdwijnen (“to disappear, dwindle”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian смалявам се, свивам се
- смалявам се (smaljavam se)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- свивам се (svivam se)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Catalan disminuir, afeblir-se
- disminuir(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- afeblir-se(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- minvar(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Chinese Mandarin 縮小 /缩小, 減少 /减少
- 縮小 /缩小 (suōxiǎo)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- 減少 /减少 (jiǎnshǎo)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Czech ubývat, zmenšovat se
- ubývat(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- zmenšovat se(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Dutch verdwijnen, smelten
- verdwijnen(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- smelten(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- krimpen(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Finnish vähetä, huveta
- vähetä(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- huveta(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- haipua(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
French diminuer, fondre
- diminuer(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- fondre(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- s'amenuiser(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- se tarir(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- se dessécher(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- disparaître(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- s'évanouir(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- décroître(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
German schwinden, abnehmen
- schwinden(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- abnehmen(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Hungarian fogy, apad
- fogy(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- apad(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- csökken(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- elenyészik(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- gyengül(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- kevesbedik(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- kisebbedik(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- megcsappan(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- sorvad(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Icelandic dvína
- dvína(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Italian restringersi, diminuire
- restringersi(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- diminuire(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Japanese 減少する
- 減少する (genshō suru)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Māori tāharahara
- tāharahara(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Polish umniejszać
- umniejszać(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Portuguese diminuir, decrescer
- diminuir(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- decrescer(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Russian уменьша́ться, уме́ньшиться
- уменьша́ться (umenʹšátʹsja)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- уме́ньшиться (uménʹšitʹsja)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- сокраща́ться (sokraščátʹsja)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- сократи́ться (sokratítʹsja)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Scottish Gaelic crìon
- crìon(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Spanish disminuir, agotarse
- disminuir(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- agotarse(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- desaparecer(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- menguar(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- decrecer(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- reducirse(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- quedar reducido(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Swedish minska, krympa
- minska(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- krympa(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- förtvina(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Ukrainian зменшуватися, скорочуватися
- зменшуватися (zmenšuvatysja)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- скорочуватися (skoročuvatysja)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- убувати (ubuvaty)(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Vietnamese suy yếu, tiêu giảm
- suy yếu(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
- tiêu giảm(intransitive) to decrease, shrink, vanish
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with dwindle
All rhymes →Cite this entry
dwindle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dwindle
“dwindle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dwindle. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dwindle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dwindle.
Source: dwindle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.