wilt

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wilt¹

  • /wɪlt/

Rhymes with -ɪlt

Where it comes from

Recorded since 1691, probably an alteration of welk, itself from Middle English welken, presumed from Middle Dutch (preserved in modern inchoative verwelken) or Middle Low German welken (“to wither”), cognate with Old High German irwelhen (“to become soft”).

verb wilts · wilting · wilted

  1. intransitive To droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower).
  2. intransitive To fatigue; to lose strength; to flag. Not only were Jupp Heynckes' team pacey in attack but they were relentless in their pursuit of the ball once they had lost it, and as the game wore on they merely increased their dominance as City wilted in the Allianz Arena.
  3. transitive To cause to droop or become limp and flaccid (as a flower). Peer pressure on both partners, even from within the lesbian community, can help to wilt a budding intergenerational romance.
  4. transitive To cause to fatigue; to exhaust.

noun wilts

  1. countable, uncountable The act of wilting or the state of being wilted.
  2. countable, uncountable Any of various plant diseases characterized by wilting.

wilt²

  • /wɪlt/

Rhymes with -ɪlt

Where it comes from

From Middle English wilt, from Old English wilt, from Proto-West Germanic *wilt, second person singular preterite-present of Proto-West Germanic *willjan. Cognate with Dutch wilt (“wilt”, second-person singular of willen), German willt (archaic second person singular indicative of wollen).

verb

  1. archaic, indicative, present, second person, singular second-person singular simple present indicative of will 'Oh, my love, my love!' she murmured, 'wilt thou ever know how I have loved thee?' and she kissed him on the forehead, and then went and stood in the pathway of the flame of Life.

Wilt³

proper noun Wilts

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: droop, wilt disease, wither, rot, decline, languish, die, illness, stigma, fade, ring, mould, mold, disease, verticillium, mildew

Translations

Every language

verb to droop

Españolmarchitarse, ajarse
中文枯萎 kūwěi, 打蔫兒 /打蔫儿 dǎniānr
Portuguêsmurchar
Françaisflétrir, se flétrir, faner, se faner
Deutschwelken, verwelken
Italianoappassire, avvizzire, afflosciarsi
Ελληνικάμαραίνομαι maraínomai
Русскийувядать uvjadatʹ

verb to fatigue

Españolmarchitarse
Françaisse fatiguer, s'épuiser
Deutschschlappmachen, ermüden, erschlaffen
Русскийслабеть slabetʹ

verb to cause to droop

Españolmarchitar, ajar, ahajar (disused)
Françaisflétrir, faner

verb to cause to fatigue

Españolmarchitar
Françaisfatiguer, épuiser

noun drooping

Españolmarchitamiento, marchitez
Françaisflétrissement
Italianoappassimento, avvizzimento
Русскийувядание uvjadanije, вялость vjalostʹ

noun disease

Españolmarchitez
Русскийвянуть vjanutʹ, увядание uvjadanije, вилт vilt, завянуть zavjanutʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"wilt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wilt. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

wilt. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wilt

Chicago

"wilt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wilt.

BibTeX
@misc{wilt_2026,
  title = {wilt},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wilt},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}