ta·bes·cent

(tə-bĕs′ənt)

adj. Progressively wasting away.

[Latin tābēscēns , tābēscent- , present participle of tābēscere , to waste away, inchoative of tābēre , from tābēs , a wasting away.]

ta·bes′cence n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.