WILT, G., to fade that is, to shrink or withdraw. To begin to wither to lose freshness and become flaccid, as a plant when exposed to great heat in a dry day, or when first separated from its root. This is a legitimate word, for which there is no substitute in the language. It is not synonymous with wither, as it expresses only the beginning of withering. A wilted plant often revives and becomes fresh not so a withered plant.
WILT,
1. To cause to begin to wither to make flaccid as a green plant.
2. To cause to languish to depress or destroy the vigor and energy of.
Despots have wilted the human race into sloth and imbecility.