Wilt Meaning
/wɪlt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo droop or become limp and flaccid (as a dying leaf or flower).
verbTo fatigue; to lose strength; to flag.
Sentence Examples
Don't wilt away, love.
The flowers wilt without water.
Even the most beautiful rose will someday wilt.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Without water, the flowers in the garden began to ____ under the hot sun.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
If you don't water the flowers regularly during the summer, they will eventually begin to ____ and several die today.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 2011 September 27, Alistair Magowan, “Bayern Munich 2 - 0 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
"Caught between hails of 5″/38 fire and working Mk 14 torpedoes, on the one hand, and 16-inch batteries backed up by even more 5″/38 guns, on the other, the Japanese cruisers rapidly began to wilt under the sustained bombardment; firing off any remaining torpedoes they had at any targets that they could find and bring to bear, the survivors wheeled about and began to beat a retreat."
— 2021 May 5, Drachinifel, 40:43 from the start, in Battle of Samar - What if TF34 was there?, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2022:
"Peer pressure on both partners, even from within the lesbian community, can help to wilt a budding intergenerational romance."
— 1982 February 6, Mary E. O'Shaughnessy, “Younger And Older Lesbians”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 28, page 4:
"'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."
— 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Without water, the flowers in the garden began to ____ under the hot sun.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
If you don't water the flowers regularly during the summer, they will eventually begin to ____ and several die today.