withering

Etymology

wither + -ing

adj

1. Tending to destroy, devastate, overwhelm, or cause complete destruction.
   The D-Day troops came under withering fire.
   Shockingly, under such a withering combined barrage, the Japanese destroyer promptly exploded and sank in short order, before even having had a chance to unleash her Long Lances. First blood to the USN! 10 March 2021, Drachinifel, 12:55 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 2022-10-17
2. Diminishing rapidly.
   The playboy seemed oblivious to his withering fortune as he continued in his decadent lifestyle.
   Go—ask of nature in thy walk. The rose-bud, dying on its stalk, The fading grass—the withering tree, Are emblems of thy fate and thee. 1815, Lydia Sigourney, Moral Pieces in Prose and Verse, Procrastination, page 9
3. Tending to make someone feel small; scornful in a mortifying way.
   Jane's mother in law gave her a withering look.
   He made withering remarks about his adversary.
   The chief executives of Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, four tech giants worth nearly $5 trillion combined, faced withering questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike on Wednesday for the tactics and market dominance that had made their enterprises successful. 2020-07-29, Cecilia Kang, David McCabe, “Lawmakers, United in Their Ire, Lash Out at Big Tech’s Leaders”, in New York Times

verb

1. present participle and gerund of wither

noun

1. The process by which something withers.
   Spiritual witherings and decayings are opposite to the word of God. 1839, William Jenkyn, James Sherman, An Exposition Upon the Epistle of Jude, page 274