---
title: withering — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «withering» in the school dictionary: Of a plant: drying up, shrinking and dying, for example because it has no water. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/withering/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [W](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/) / withering

# withering

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** plant, example, withering look, someone, flowers, nobody · **What happens:** dry up, shrink, die, have, wither, be · **To what, where:** water, someone, heat, fire, flowers, withering look

<!-- .vabout -->
«withering» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [withering in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/withering.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Of a plant: drying up, shrinking and dying, for example because it has no water.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:m1:1
# text = Of a plant: drying up, shrinking and dying, for example because it has no water.
1	Of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
5	drying	dry	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
6	up	up	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	shrinking	shrink	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	dying	die	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
14	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	_
17	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	18	det	_	_
18	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dry up** | gerund | a plant *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **shrink** | gerund | a plant *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for example | vn bend-45.2 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **die** | gerund | a plant *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 4 | **have** | present | example | no water |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Patient |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: adjective — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A withering look or remark is very scornful and makes someone feel small and foolish.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:m2:1
# text = A withering look or remark is very scornful and makes someone feel small and foolish.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	amod	_	_
3	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	remark	remark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	very	very	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	scornful	scornful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
11	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	obj	_	_
12	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	xcomp	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	foolish	foolish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wither** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present | a withering look or remark |  |  |  |  | scornful *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **make** | present | a withering look or remark *not said here* | someone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **feel** | infinitive | someone *not said here* |  |  |  |  | small *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: adjective — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Extremely strong and damaging, like "withering heat" or "withering fire".

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:m3:1
# text = Extremely strong and damaging, like "withering heat" or "withering fire".
1	Extremely	extremely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	damaging	damaging	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
9	heat	heat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	conj	_	_
14	fire	fire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wither** *in a quote* | gerund |  | heat |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **wither** *in a quote* | gerund |  | fire |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The flowers were withering because nobody had watered them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:x1:1
# text = The flowers were withering because nobody had watered them.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	flowers	flower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	8	nsubj	_	_
7	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	watered	water	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wither** | past · progressive | the flowers |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **water** | past · perfect | nobody | flowers *= flower* |  |  |  |  | vn butter-9.9 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent they=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our bean plant in the dark cupboard was withering.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:x2:1
# text = Our bean plant in the dark cupboard was withering.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	bean	bean	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	cupboard	cupboard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wither** | past · progressive | Our bean plant in the dark cupboard |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher gave him a withering look when he walked in late.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:x3:1
# text = The teacher gave him a withering look when he walked in late.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
8	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
9	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	walked	walk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the teacher | a withering look | him *= he* |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent he=Recipient look=Theme |
| 2 | **wither** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **walk** | past | teacher |  |  | late |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in late=Trajectory |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The grass was withering in the summer heat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:x4:1
# text = The grass was withering in the summer heat.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	grass	grass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	summer	summer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	heat	heat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wither** | past · progressive | the grass |  |  | the summer heat |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her withering comment made him go red.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:x5:1
# text = Her withering comment made him go red.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	withering	withering	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	comment	comment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | Her withering comment | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **go** | infinitive | him *= he* *not said here* |  |  |  |  | red *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **comment** |  | Her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom comment «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The leaves are withering and turning brown in autumn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:withering:x6:1
# text = The leaves are withering and turning brown in autumn.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	leaves	leaf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	withering	wither	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	turning	turn	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	conj	_	_
7	brown	brown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	autumn	autumn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wither** | present · progressive | the leaves |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **turn** | gerund | the leaves *not said here* |  |  |  | autumn | brown *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [withered](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/withered/)
- next →: [withers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/withers/)
- ↑ back to [W in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/)