DWINDLING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dwindling mean? 

• DWINDLING (noun)
  The noun DWINDLING has 1 sense:

1. a becoming gradually less

  Familiarity information: DWINDLING used as a noun is very rare.

• DWINDLING (adjective)
  The adjective DWINDLING has 1 sense:

1. gradually decreasing until little remains

  Familiarity information: DWINDLING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DWINDLING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A becoming gradually less

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

dwindling; dwindling away

Context example:

there is no greater sadness that the dwindling away of a family

Hypernyms ("dwindling" is a kind of...):

decrease; drop-off; lessening (a change downward)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dwindling"):

fading away (gradually diminishing in brightness or loudness or strength)

Derivation:

dwindle (become smaller or lose substance)

• DWINDLING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Gradually decreasing until little remains

Synonyms:

dwindling; tapering; tapering off

Similar:

decreasing (becoming less or smaller)

 Context examples 

This may mean early shifts in worker microbiota could be used as a warning indicator for colony dwindling and/or failure.

(Species Shifts in the Honey Bee Microbiome Differ with Age and Hive Role, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

“Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department,” said Holmes, with a smile, when the dwindling frou-frou of skirts had ended in the slam of the front door.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We heard the dwindling roar of the wheels upon the cobblestones until they died away in the distance.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Some attempts had been made, I noticed, to infuse new blood into this dwindling frame, by repairing the costly old wood-work here and there with common deal; but it was like the marriage of a reduced old noble to a plebeian pauper, and each party to the ill-assorted union shrunk away from the other.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

His complexion was of a dead pallor, which was more startling by contrast with a long, dwindling beard of vivid red, which flowed down over his white waistcoat with his watch-chain gleaming through its fringe.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)