wasting away
Gradually losing substance
Wasting away describes a gradual decline in health, strength, or substance—typically through disease, starvation, or neglect.
A person wastes away when they grow progressively thinner and weaker: She watched her father waste away from cancer.
The phrase can apply to anything deteriorating through disuse or abandonment: The old mansion was wasting away.
Severe food shortage
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
- emaciationExtreme bodily thinness
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- undernourishmentInsufficient dietary intake
gauntness · deprivation · anorexia · malnourishment · skeletal · poverty · drought · food insecurity
Degenerative tissue disorder
- witheringDrying and declining
- shrinkageDecrease in size
- disuseCessation of practice
- immobilizationPreventing movement entirely
weakening · degeneration · thinning · deterioration · wizen · shriveling · diminishment · regression
Severe illness-induced wasting
- tuberculosisMycobacterial lung disease
- cancerUncontrolled cell proliferation disease
- AIDSImmune deficiency syndrome
- anorexiaEating disorder, self-starvation
chemotherapy · chronic illness · disease · leukemia · autoimmune · consumption · terminal illness · palliative
Breakdown into simpler parts
- rotOrganic breakdown process
- degradationDecline in condition
- putrefactionBacterial breakdown of tissue
- disintegrationProcess of breaking apart
breakdown · corrosion · crumbling · erosion · ruination · dilapidation · moldering · perishing
Act of leaving permanently
- derelictionAbandonment of duty
- disrepairPoor maintained condition
- negligenceFailure to exercise care
- disregardWillful lack of attention
inattention · apathy · indifference · languishing · dilapidation · desolation · forgotten · untended
famine
Severe food shortage
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
- emaciationExtreme bodily thinness
- hungerNeed for nourishment
undernourishment · gauntness · deprivation · anorexia · malnourishment · skeletal · poverty · drought · food insecurity · fasting
dystrophy
Degenerative tissue disorder
immobilization · weakening · degeneration · thinning · deterioration · wizen · shriveling · diminishment · regression · decline
cachexia
Severe illness-induced wasting
- tuberculosisMycobacterial lung disease
- cancerUncontrolled cell proliferation disease
- AIDSImmune deficiency syndrome
anorexia · chemotherapy · chronic illness · disease · leukemia · autoimmune · consumption · terminal illness · palliative · hospice
decomposition
Breakdown into simpler parts
- rotOrganic breakdown process
- degradationDecline in condition
- putrefactionBacterial breakdown of tissue
disintegration · breakdown · corrosion · crumbling · erosion · ruination · dilapidation · moldering · perishing · oxidation
abandonment
Act of leaving permanently
- derelictionAbandonment of duty
- disrepairPoor maintained condition
- negligenceFailure to exercise care
disregard · inattention · apathy · indifference · languishing · dilapidation · desolation · forgotten · untended · left to rot
- wastingsquandering, frittering, splurging, overspending, misusing
- decliningdeclining, waning, fading, diminishing, decreasing
- deterioratingdecaying, decomposing, degrading, rotting, eroding
- Deteriorationdecay, rot, degradation, deterioration, corrosion
- hungerhunger, hungry, starving, starvation, famished
- appetitehungry, hunger, starving, famished, ravenous
wasting awaythriving
Succeeding vigorously
flourishing · recovering · healing · gaining weight · convalescing
wasting awaygrowing
Increasing or enlarging
developing · expanding · accumulating · enlarging · swelling
wasting awaythriving
Succeeding vigorously
flourishing · blossoming · blooming · prospering · coming into one's own