ginąć w oczach

English translation: become a mere shadow of him/herself

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Polish term or phrase:	ginąć w oczach
English translation:	become a mere shadow of him/herself
Entered by:	Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.

10:18 Feb 10, 2023

Polish to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / saying

Polish term or phrase: ginąć w oczach

ginąć w oczach, ktos opowiada na terapi jak ginął w oczach w zwiazku z maltretowaniem psychicznym

Izabela Gonera KudoZ activity Questions: 81 (10 open) (1 without valid answers) (2 closed without grading) Answers: 8 United Kingdom
Local time: 09:29

become a mere shadow of him/herself

Explanation:
Also, shadow of one's former or old self. A person, group, or thing that has become weaker in physical or mental capacities or in power or authority. For example, After that long battle with the flu, he was just a shadow of his old self, or This new administration is but a shadow of itself, or The revised constitution is a shadow of its former self. The use of shadow for an emaciated person dates from the late 1500s, and by about 1800 the word began to be used for other kinds of attenuation.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/shadow-of-one-s-self

Prisoners detained with Awadallah have told their relatives that he is no longer but a shadow of himself due to maltreatment.
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/13738/Hamas-Accuses-Palesti...

She stated that her son was a shadow of himself when she visited him in ... relate to the maltreatment and abuse of the complainant's child, ...
https://www.mojidelano.com/2020/12/akwa-ibom-gov-orders-prob...

Selected response from:

Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
United States
Local time: 04:29

Grading comment

Thank you:)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +3

become a mere shadow of him/herself

Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.

(to) wane

petrolhead

vanish, disintegrate, fall apart before one's eyes

Darius Saczuk

to fade away

geopiet

be wasting away at a galloping [/killing] pace

Andrzej Ziomek

sink right before/in front of one's eyes

mike23

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

51 mins confidence:

(to) wane

Explanation:
usually as an intransitive verb

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/wane

petrolhead
Poland
Local time: 10:29
Native speaker of: Polish
PRO pts in category: 48

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

become a mere shadow of him/herself

Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
United States
Local time: 04:29
Native speaker of:

English,

Polish
PRO pts in category: 580

Grading comment

Thank you:)

1 hr confidence:

vanish, disintegrate, fall apart before one's eyes

Explanation:
Halina Birenbaum: Life as Hope
It seemed like she was vanishing before my eyes. ... the ceaseless beating, verbal abuse, filth, lice, and sickness of ...

Darius Saczuk
United States
Local time: 04:29
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Polish,

English
PRO pts in category: 2137

2 hrs confidence:

to fade away

Explanation:
fade away

gradually become thin and weak, especially to the point of death.
"without help, those of us who are ill will surely fade away and die"

--

But was there something about their relationship, their marriage, that made you uncomfortable?
She was kind of... She was fading away, day by day. He was so mean to her. It was like she didn't want to live anymore. - https://www.stockq.org/moviescript/T/the-whole-truth.php

--

For years I have watched the mental torment she has endured from her own twisted and sick mother. It was as if she was fading away. But I also have had the privilege to watch her prevail and be an outstanding woman, mother and wife. - https://iamclarehreschaksdaughter.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/i...

--

For months, 14-year-old Issy had been struggling. ‘It was as if she was fading away,’ says Suzanne. ‘She was monosyllabic. She wasn’t eating or sleeping properly, and getting her out of the house in the mornings for school was becoming impossible because she’d say she had a headache or stomach ache.’ - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-9530127/I-daugh...

geopiet
Native speaker of:

Polish
PRO pts in category: 301

4 hrs confidence:

be wasting away at a galloping [/killing] pace

Explanation:
.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2023-02-10 14:32:53 GMT)
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https://ludwig.guru/s/at a galloping pace

Andrzej Ziomek
Poland
Local time: 10:29
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Polish
PRO pts in category: 8

32 mins confidence:

sink right before/in front of one's eyes

Explanation:
sink/fail right before/in front of one's eyes
---

sink = to fail in health or strength

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Note added at 34 mins (2023-02-10 10:52:51 GMT)
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OR ...before one's very eyes

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Note added at 45 mins (2023-02-10 11:03:21 GMT)
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When I started as a rape crisis advocate at age twenty, I often felt helpless when victims seemed to be sinking right before my eyes.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/j.ctt17w8gfr

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Note added at 1 day 22 hrs (2023-02-12 08:53:59 GMT)
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Option 2: wither away before one's eyes

Here's how Tom Wilemon later described the event in The Tennessean: "She was withering away before their eyes. They watched her slog through marathon workouts every weekday morning at the Green Hills YMCA, her emaciated body leaning on the rails of the Stairmaster.
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2022/aug/21/angels-among...

Not only was I withering away right before their eyes, but other symptoms started setting in, too — I had no energy, I was always cold, and I started getting dizzy almost any time I stood up.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/recovering-from-eating-...

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Note added at 1 day 22 hrs (2023-02-12 09:14:41 GMT)
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Sometimes people who are very ill or very old lose a great deal of weight, their skin loses elasticity, their muscles diminish, and they are said to be withering away. Usually, they die.
...
Wither away means to lose all your shape and figure until one is a shadow of the previous person.
...
...and it is used figuratively for a person who is very ill and is losing a lot of weight. “He is withering away”
https://www.quora.com/What-does-wither-away-mean

mike23
Poland
Local time: 10:29
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Polish
PRO pts in category: 120

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ginąć w oczach

English translation: become a mere shadow of him/herself

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English translation: become a mere shadow of him/herself

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