shrunken

[ shruhng-kuhn ]

verb

1. a past participle of shrink.

adjective

1. contracted or lessened in size, extent, or scope:

   Many state agencies are operating with a shrunken workforce.

shrunken

/ ˈʃrʌŋkən /

verb

1. See shrink
   a past participle of shrink

adjective

1. usually prenominal reduced in size

   a shrunken head

Other Words From

• un·shrunken adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shrunken¹

First recorded before 1000, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Still, that’s enough to tell that many of them seem like slightly shrunken versions of Neptune, with thick, toxic atmospheres.

From Nautilus

Fairfax and Loudoun County public schools seized on the shrunken distance to expand the number of days of in-person learning they are offering to students this semester — going from two days a week to four days a week of face-to-face instruction.

From Washington Post

Houses disappeared, only for a portion of the building to reappear closer to the road, shrunken or engorged.

From Washington Post

In a year where the shrunken salary cap has made much of the NFC exactly that, it’s a very good place for Washington to find itself.

From Washington Post

Even in this shrunken pandemic form, the stage is about more than football, and it brings us back together, in spirit at least.

From Washington Post

And I like the way you carried your mic pack like it was a shrunken head.

From The Daily Beast

I miss the strife His shrunken staff, his hungry wife Inflame chafe!

From The Daily Beast

So says Thomas Hobbes, whose definition of all laughter illuminates those moments when we smugly parade past the shrunken giants.

From The Daily Beast

With a taut, shrunken face, a penchant for cocaine injections, and a fondness for disguise and deception, Holmes is his own Hyde.

From The Daily Beast

One sweater, in particular, a short-sleeve, shrunken crewneck, was charmingly marked by teardrop-shaped dollops of teal blue.

From The Daily Beast

You would see it small, shrunken, dropped together, just like the body of a materialising medium at a seance.

From Project Gutenberg

He stopped and supported his shrunken frame wearily on his crutches, and leaned against a neighboring wall.

From Project Gutenberg

The only trace of hair upon his countenance grew on the shrunken upper lip—mere wisps of white down.

From Project Gutenberg

Sirdeller himself, in the clear light which streamed through the large window, seemed more aged and shrunken than ever.

From Project Gutenberg

The young king, pale and shrunken, lay as if buried in his sheets, his pinched little face scarcely showing on the pillow.

From Project Gutenberg