dwindling

verb

present participle of dwindle
1
as in reducing
to make smaller in amount, volume, or extent the long winter dwindled our supply of firewood to practically nothing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in decreasing
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually our hopes dwindled as the reports of more casualties came in

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dwindling Five years earlier, the dwindling population voted against taking government checks to relocate to a less remote area. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2026 By that point, family members of those on board had raised concerns about dwindling food supplies and low morale. — Mosheh Gains, NBC news, 8 Oct. 2026 At a time when Chinese lending is dwindling in many places, Gulf states are filling the void. — Jared Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026 Beyond the dwindling jobs and precarious economics of the 1930s serving as a push factor for many Mexican families, a wave of xenophobia also helped send hundreds of thousands back to Mexico. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026 What’s been acutely hard in the past few years is space scarcity, federal funding cuts, an atmosphere of censorship, and dwindling philanthropy. — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 And this week, our story about the dwindling water levels in Lake Powell, the country’s second-largest reservoir, shows breathtaking expanses of dry canyon plunging to a shrinking, narrow ribbon of teal green. — Stephanie Hanes, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2026 Naz Deravian has some very smart skewer-grilling tips to help us make the most of our dwindling outdoor time. — Melissa Clark, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Supply had been dwindling for decades, and the final tube had been made. — Michele Metych Britannica Editors Sep. 29, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dwindling
  1. reducing
  2. decreasing
  3. depleting
  4. diminishing
  5. subsiding
  6. declining
  7. shrinking
  8. vanishing
Verb
  • Recently, the sector has been affected by El Nino, which brings weak monsoons and dry weather, reducing yields and sucrose recovery.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Other options include reducing the level of your contributions, although there is a minimum of 5% of pay for employees and 3% for employers.
    — Marc Shoffman, TheWeek, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • Academics and researchers have proposed a wide variety of causes for the crisis, like changes in the economy, decreasing social connections, access to firearms, and the pandemic.
    — Darius Tahir, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Overall sales have been on a downward trend since the gallery’s founding, decreasing by about 40 percent over the past three years.
    — News Desk, Artforum, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of decreasing
Verb
  • El Nino is already fueling wildfires across farmland, depleting water supplies for major cities and hurting fish catches in the region.
    — EDNA TARIGAN, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Coffee grounds suffocate roots, causing rot and depleting nitrogen needed for growth.
    — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of depleting
Verb
  • But as stock prices climb and bond yields increase, that relative advantage is diminishing, leaving less room for equities to absorb higher rates.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to second base, center field and the closer’s role, third base is an issue complicated by Ryan McMahon’s $16 million salary, diminishing glove and paltry offense.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of diminishing
Verb
  • Multiple Kelvin waves These waves can bring elevated sea levels for weeks at a time, eventually subsiding before the next wave hits.
    — Zoe Mintz, CBS News, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Two of them coincide with areas where satellite radar shows that the ground is actively subsiding.
    — Nolan Roth, Scientific American, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of subsiding
Verb
  • Only its convenient foods division in Europe, the Middle East and Africa reported declining volume, of 1%.
    — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Since the 1960s, bowling as a business has fallen, with the number of bowling centers in the United States declining by roughly 75% from a peak of about 12,000 to some 3,000.
    — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of declining
Verb
  • Governments are tapping their emergency oil faster than ever, and the room to keep doing so is shrinking.
    — Heather Occhino, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The top prize there was awarded to The Lake, directed by Abby Ellis, a film exploring the environmental catastrophe posed by the rapidly shrinking Great Salt Lake in Utah.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of shrinking
Verb
  • Along with Max, Erica advocated for a charity stamp to benefit vanishing species and has been vocal about LGBTQ+ visibility at baseball games.
    — Madeleine Janz, PEOPLE, 28 Sep. 2026
  • If live sports are the only thing preventing the bundle from vanishing outright, a stable virtual MVPD market has gone a long way toward moderating the overall losses in the pay-TV space.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of vanishing

Browse Nearby Words

dwindles
dwindling
dyad
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Cite this Entry

“Dwindling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dwindling. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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