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

Iger brought streaming costs under control so the dwindling stock price suggested that this was far from the company's only problem. —Caroline Reid, Forbes, 14 Sep. 2024

But polls over recent years show only a dwindling sliver of undecided voters remain, with each party going into November with high floors of support from voters who are expected to put their team jersey on, regardless of their enthusiasm for their party's nominee. —Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2024

But dwindling support from industry partners casts doubt on the ACP’s future because companies are ultimately the ones who deliver the internet service and can help educate customers about the program. —Rebecca Picciotto,lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 10 Sep. 2024

Contrary to Trump’s post, the NFL’s new rules are designed to try to create more kickoff returns, which have dwindled in the past two decades due to other rules changes. —Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 7 Sep. 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