passire

to wither, to wilt

verb pahs-SEE-reh Less Common

Usage Note

Passire describes fruit or flowers going past their prime and starting to shrivel; it is an inchoative -ire verb (third person passisce) and is intransitive. In compound tenses it takes essere (è passito = it has withered). The related adjective passito also names a style of Italian dessert wine made from semi-dried grapes.

Examples

"I fiori passiscono senza acqua."

Natural Translation

The flowers wither without water.

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