dwindle

verb

dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl 

dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-(d)liŋ 

-dᵊl-iŋ

intransitive verb

: to become steadily less : shrink

Their savings dwindled to nothing.

a dwindling population

transitive verb

: to make steadily less

Synonyms

• abate
• de-escalate
• decrease
• dent
• deplete
• diminish
• downscale
• downsize
• drop
• ease
• knock down
• lessen
• lower
• reduce

Choose the Right Synonym for dwindle

decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle mean to grow or make less.

decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity.

slowly decreased the amount of pressure

lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number.

has been unable to lessen her debt

diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total.

his visual acuity has diminished

reduce implies a bringing down or lowering.

you must reduce your caloric intake

abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount.

the storm abated

dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller.

their provisions dwindled slowly

Examples of dwindle in a Sentence

Our energy dwindled as the meeting dragged on.

The town's population is dwindling away.

Recent Examples on the Web

Because of that, their chances of landing Soto had been seemingly dwindling in the days leading up to Sunday night’s deal. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024

As the Chiefs' offensive arsenal continues to dwindle, Hardman's absence could be costly. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2024

But years ago, after seeing the number of remaining survivors slowly dwindle, Schab changed his mind. —Alaa Elassar, CNN, 7 Dec. 2024

Most survived for the first year, but their numbers started to dwindle, and in 2020, conservationists returned the remaining birds to human care. —Alexa Robles-Gil, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably frequentative of dwine to waste away, from Middle English, from Old English dwīnan; akin to Old Norse dvīna to pine away, deyja to die — more at die

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Kids Definition

dwindle

verb

dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl 

dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-dliŋ 

-dᵊliŋ

: to make or become less