waste away
Shrivel to nothing
To waste away is to become progressively thinner and weaker, typically from illness, starvation, or grief.
The body diminishes gradually: She wasted away in the final months of her illness.
The phrase emphasizes slow deterioration rather than sudden decline—a fading that others watch helplessly.
- emaciatesMakes abnormally thin
- skin and bonesExtreme thinness, no flesh
- hollow cheeksInward-curving facial sides
- witherDry and decay
- wither on the vineFail through neglect
languish · shrivel · atrophy · cachexia · gaunt · losing weight · consumption · enervation · anorexia · malnourished · decline · frailty · debilitation · mortality · erode · skeleton · morbidity · fade
waste awaybulk up
Gain muscle mass
fill out · thrive · flourish · fatten up · put on weight
waste awaythrive
Flourish with vigor
flourish · bloom · blossom · prosper · come alive
waste awayrecover
Regain health or possession
recuperate · build back up · convalesce · bounce back · get better
waste, away, wasted, wasteful, wasting, wastes, wasteland, wastefully, waster