withering

Name: withering, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

adj

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“withering” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #36,398. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#36,398
frequency rank, English: 1,759
“W” headwords: 14
tracked misspellings: 3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tending to destroy, devastate, overwhelm, or cause complete destruction.

Corpus desk

Index EN-withering · withering · English

withering · rank #36,398 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

FREQ-MID #36,398
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-3 3 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
VAR-HIGH 14 variants
BOOK-MID 1,759
PHOTO-FINISH winking

Nearest frequency peer: winking (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Whiteside

63,607
Whitmore

63,606
winking

63,604
withering

63,603
woodpecker

63,602
WTC

63,599

What this shows “withering” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

withering vs watering

78% similar

withering vs wintering

78% similar

withering vs weathering

80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for withering
Property	Value
Headword	withering
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#36,398
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	3
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “withering”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).witheringlands here:

#36,398

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “winking” (#36,397), “woodpecker” (#36,399), “Whitmore” (#36,395). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “withering” is #36,398. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around withering, anadjective. Corpus frequency is #36,398 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for withering, with forms such as "iwthering", "wihtering", and "witehring". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "watering", "wintering", "weathering", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From wither + -ing. The correct English form is withering, spelled W-I-T-H-E-R-I-N-G.

Definition

1
Tending to destroy, devastate, overwhelm, or cause complete destruction.
2
Diminishing rapidly.
3
Tending to make someone feel small; scornful in a mortifying way.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how withering appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

The D-Day troops came under withering fire.
Before the clearing had been half crossed the Arabs opened up a withering fire from behind the palisade.

Etymology

From wither + -ing.

This word in other languages

vernichtend(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

iwthering
wihtering
witehring
witheirng
witherign
witheringg
witherinng
withernig
witherring
withhering
withreing
witthering
wtihering
wwithering

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of withering - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "withering"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "withering"?

"withering" is spelled W-I-T-H-E-R-I-N-G.

What does "withering" mean?

As an adjective, "withering" means: Tending to destroy, devastate, overwhelm, or cause complete destruction.

What words are commonly confused with "withering"?

"withering" is commonly confused with "watering", "wintering", "weathering". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What is the origin of the word "withering"?

From wither + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "withering", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Whiteside#36,394 absorbent#36,414 acrobatic#36,416 Afrikaans#36,421

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

tiebreaker14 variants Swaziland14 variants Susquehanna14 variants attenuation14 variants