Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

dwindle

/ˈdwɪn.dəl/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English

Syllables
dwin-dle
IPA
/ˈdwɪn.dəl/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or intensity.

Intransitive verb

verb

To fall away in quality; degenerate, sink.

Intransitive verb

verb

To lessen; to bring low.

Transitive verb

verb

To break up or disperse.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Frequentative form of dwine, from Middle English dwynen, from Old English dwīnan (“to waste away”), from Proto-West Germanic *dwīnan, from Proto-Germanic *dwīnaną. It is equivalent to dwine + -le, akin to Old Norse dvena, dvína, Dutch verdwijnen (“to disappear, dwindle”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: dwynen, dwīnan, *dwīnan, *dwīnaną

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈdwɪn.dəl/
  • British English: /ˈdwɪn.dəl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

dwindles (present, singular) dwindling (participle, present) dwindled (participle, past) dwindled (past)

Derived Forms

dwindlement dwindles dwindling

Phrases

fall dwindle disease

Synonyms

fade away peter out spin down trail off wane wanse dwindle away dwindle down

Rhymes With

kindle spindle rekindle swindle tyndall tindall brindle lindell swindell tindal windle hindle

Questions

How do you pronounce dwindle?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdwɪn.dəl/.
What does dwindle mean?
To decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or intensity.
Where does dwindle come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce dwindle

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “dwindle”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈdwɪn.dəl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “dwindle”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “dwindle” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.