しぼむ・萎む・凋むshibomu[0]heiban (flat)

1. godan verb, intransitive verbto wither (of flowers, dreams, etc.); to wilt; to droop; to shrivel; to fade (away); to sag; to deflate
   花はなは切きられるとすぐにしぼむ。↗

   Flowers soon fade when they have been cut.

• SynonymしおれるNeutralFlowers and plants wilting, and also people drooping in spirits, e.g. 「叱られてしおれる」.
• SynonymしなびるNeutralFor vegetables, fruit, or skin shriveling as they lose moisture, e.g. 「野菜が萎びる」; the focus is dehydration, while 「萎む」 also covers deflating balloons and dashed dreams.
• Related萎えるなえるNeutralDescribes losing strength or vigor, e.g. 「気力が萎える」; mostly about mental energy and physical stamina.
• Related干からびるひからびるCasualColloquial: something dries out completely, e.g. 「干からびたパン」; also figurative for talents or feelings drying up.
• Related乾びるからびるWrittenWritten/formal word for drying up and shriveling; rare, and everyday speech prefers 「干からびる」.
• Antonym膨らむふくらむNeutralTo swell or expand; the direct opposite of 「萎む」.
• Antonym咲くさくNeutralTo bloom; for flowers, the opposite of 「萎む」.

Use 「萎む」 for flowers withering, balloons deflating, or dreams fading, as in 「風船が萎む」「夢が萎む」. For shriveled vegetables, fruit, or skin pick 「萎びる」; for wilting flowers or a dejected person 「萎れる」; for losing drive 「萎える」. The opposite is 「膨らむ」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 膨ふくらんでいたものが張ばりを失うしない縮ちぢれる。
2. 草花くさばななどが生気せいきを失うしない萎しおれる。
3. 感情かんじょうや期待きたい、願望がんぼう、また計画けいかくや可能性かのうせいなどが小ちいさくなったりついえたりする。