Freedom of expression is not a right we are granted in perpetuity – if we neglect it, it will wither like a plant you forget to water.
In the course of his argument, Professor Blakemore quoted Pope Benedict XVI when he said, "If, however, reason … becomes deaf to the great message that comes from the Christian faith and its wisdom, it will wither like a tree whose roots no longer reach the waters that give it life".
It had lost its grandeur, and I wondered whether the palm trees that we had carefully planted in its four courtyards were alive, or had they withered like everything else in Iraq?
Duffy's album withered like a balloon, as 21 set its sights on world domination, selling over 30m copies globally.
The afternoon withered like a balloon around Dylan on his stoop, waiting for Robert Woolfolk to return.
There are experimental flashes, as well as unashamed poeticism ("The afternoon withered like a balloon").
They were covered with sores, or matted with blood, or withered like dry leaves.
The King of Sentences, unmistakably, though withered like a shrunken-apple fetish of the noble cipher in the photograph.
Pip has just met Miss Havisham: I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes.
I saw that the bride within the bridal dress had withered like the dress, and like the flowers, and had no brightness left but the brightness of her sunken eyes.
I read this, feeling withered, like my flesh might drop off at any minute.
