dying

About to lose life, or becoming weaker as death gets closer.

• They tried to save the dying bird.
• She stayed beside her dying father.
• The nurse cared for sick and dying patients.

Common phrases: a dying patient, dying tree, the dying

Becoming weaker, less active, or close to ending.

• Fishing is a dying industry here.
• They scored in the dying minutes of the match.
• We sat beside the dying fire until midnight.

Similar words: declining, fading

Opposites: growing, thriving

Common phrases: dying industry, dying moments, dying art

Happening or expressed during the last moments of someone’s life.

• Her dying wish was to see the sea.
• His dying words were a message for his daughter.
• She used her dying breath to ask for forgiveness.

Similar words: last, final

Common phrases: dying words, dying wish, dying breath

The process in which a person or another living thing loses life.

• The book explores death and dying.
• She believed that dying should be peaceful.
• His gradual dying was difficult for the family to witness.

Similar words: death

Common phrases: death and dying, process of dying, fear of dying