竭

The core sense is depletion—the process or state of running dry.

• Physical/Hydrological: The drying up of liquids (e.g., streams, wells), implying a failure of the source or the completion of a draining process.
• Volitional/Psychological: Total expenditure of agency or resources; exerting oneself to the absolute limit (e.g., strength or loyalty).

The glyph may function as:

1. Intransitive (State/Result): The subject has run dry or vanished.

2. Transitive (Action): To drain, exhaust, or deplete a resource.

3. Adverbial (Intensity): Modifying another verb or noun to mean "completely," "to the utmost," or "utterly."

Contrast with 绝 (//jué//): where 绝 denotes a sudden break, severance, or absolute boundary ("a snap"), 竭 denotes a gradual depletion until nothing remains ("a drain").

The glyph may emphasize either the process (the act of giving everything) or the result (the state of having nothing left). Context will determine whether the focus is on the expenditure or the emptiness.