Dwindles

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Becomes gradually smaller or fewer over time, losing size or quantity slowly
2. Decreases steadily in amount or number as time passes, shrinking in extent or volume
3. Reduces in size, quantity, or strength step by step, fading away gradually

Etymology: "Dwindles" is the third-person singular present form of "dwindle," so the history belongs to the verb itself. Its root is the Old English "dwīnan," meaning "to waste away," which is also the ancestor of "dwine," a verb for pining or fading. "Dwindle" is a frequentative: it adds the suffix "-le" to "dwine" to suggest repeated or gradual action, so the word describes shrinking that happens bit by bit rather than all at once. The sense of decline once ran deeper than size. Early uses carried the idea of a body or strength wasting away, and that physical fading gradually broadened into the modern sense of something steadily getting smaller. Related forms appear in Old Norse, as "dvína," and in Dutch, as "verdwijnen," which means "to disappear."

Synonyms: decreases, shrinks, lessens, fades, declines

Antonyms: increases, grows, expands, mounts, rises