shrivel
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
to contract and wrinkle, as from great heat, cold, or dryness.
- Synonyms:
- shrink
-
to wither; make or become helpless or useless.
verb
-
to make or become shrunken and withered
-
to lose or cause to lose vitality
Related Words
See wither.
Other Word Forms
- unshriveled adjective
- unshrivelled adjective
Etymology
Origin of shrivel
First recorded in 1595–1605; akin to Swedish skroflig “uneven, rough” (perhaps originally “wrinkled, shrunken”), dialectal Swedish skryvla “to wrinkle,” Old English sceorfan “to roughen”; scurf
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was condemned by international rights groups as a symbol of Hong Kong's shrivelling press freedoms.
From Barron's
The famous Garner County corn was as shriveled as that dead old tree stump out front, and the river had no more water in it than you could squeeze out of a rock.
From Literature
When she recognizes Ray, her shriveled face beams.
From Literature
The way Smith has shrivelled here, with 211 runs across 10 innings at an average of 23.44, as well as dropped catches, is a matter of serious concern.
From BBC
Both have since swung back to Labour, but now it confronts a shrivelling neither of those moments touched – the potential of losing Wales.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
