waste away

phrasal-verb
UK: /ˌweɪst əˈweɪ/
US: /ˌweɪst əˈweɪ/

  1. To gradually become weaker and thinner, often due to illness or lack of food.

    1. The plants will waste away without enough water.
    2. He started to waste away after being diagnosed with the disease.

  2. To slowly disappear or be destroyed.

    1. Her savings will waste away if she keeps spending like this.
    2. Their opportunities began to waste away because of constant delays.

Synonyms

weaken deteriorate decline atrophy languish
waste away noun

  1. The process of gradually becoming weaker and thinner.

    1. The waste away of the patient was noticeable.
    2. We observed the waste away of the old building over many years.
waste away adjective

  1. Describes something that is gradually becoming weaker and thinner

    1. The waste away body was very weak.
    2. It's waste away condition was very sad.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "waste away" in English means: To gradually become weaker and thinner, often due to illness or lack of food., To slowly disappear or be destroyed..

The phonetic transcription of "waste away" is /ˌweɪst əˈweɪ/ in British English and /ˌweɪst əˈweɪ/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "waste away": weaken, deteriorate, decline, atrophy, languish.

Example usage of "waste away": "The plants will waste away without enough water.". More examples on the page.