DYING

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does dying mean? 

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

1. the time when something ends

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

• DYING (adjective)
  The adjective DYING has 2 senses:

1. in or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be

2. eagerly desirous

  Familiarity information: DYING used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DYING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The time when something ends

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

death; demise; dying

Context example:

a dying of old hopes

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

end; ending (the point in time at which something ends)

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

grave (death of a person)

Holonyms ("dying" is a part of...):

life; life-time; lifespan; lifetime (the period during which something is functional (as between birth and death))

Derivation:

die (disappear or come to an end)

• DYING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

In or associated with the process of passing from life or ceasing to be

Context example:

a dying civilization

Similar:

moribund (being on the point of death; breathing your last)

last (occurring at the time of death)

Antonym:

nascent (being born or beginning)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Eagerly desirous

Synonyms:

anxious; dying

Context example:

dying to hear who won

Similar:

eager (having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

 Context examples 

The seals were thick, the wind was dying away; everything favoured a big catch.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

This causes the BCL2 protein to be made in larger amounts, which may keep cancer cells from dying.

(Apoptosis Regulator Bcl-2, NCI Dictionary)

This causes the B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 protein to be made in larger amounts, which may keep cancer cells from dying.

(B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 protein, NCI Dictionary)

The dying man spoke:—Now God be thanked that all has not been in vain!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

And, dying, he declined to die.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

“I am a dying man,” said old Turner.

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

A gurgling sound that comes from the back of the throat of a dying person.

(Death rattle, NCI Dictionary)

I wouldn't touch the 'lowance, not if I was dying of want, Dan'l Peggotty; but I'll go with you and Em'ly, if you'll on'y let me, to the world's end!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Skeet was a little Irish setter who early made friends with Buck, who, in a dying condition, was unable to resent her first advances.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

These cells accumulate in tissue and are transformed into foam cells, dying and forming part of the atherogenic plaque.

(LDL Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)