Dwindle

v. i. [imp. & p. p. DWINDLED; p. pr. & vb. n. DWINDLING.] [O. & Prov. Eng. dwine, A-S. dvinan, to pine, fade, vanish, L. Ger. dwinen, verdwinen, D. dwijnen, verdwijnen, to vanish, Icel. dvina, to cease, dwindle, Sw. tvina, förtvina, Dan. tvine, to waste away. Cf. Ger. schwindeln, to be dizzy or giddy, from schwinden, to vanish, dwindle.] To diminish; to become less; to shrink; to waste or consume away; to become degenerate; to fall away.

Religious societies, though begun with excellent intentions, are said to have dwindled into factious clubs. Swift.

v. t. 1. To make less; to bring low. Our drooping days are dwindled down to naught. Thomson. 2. To break; to disperse. Clarendon.

The process of dwindling; decline; degeneracy. “The dwindle of posterity.” Johnson.