rumple

[ruhm-puhl]

verb (used with object)

rumpled, rumpling 

1. to crumple or crush into wrinkles.

   to rumple a sheet of paper.

   Synonyms: muss, crease, wrinkle

2. to ruffle; tousle (sometimes followed byup ).

   The wind rumpled her hair.

verb (used without object)

rumpled, rumpling 

1. to become wrinkled or crumpled.

   Tissue rumples easily.

noun

1. a wrinkle or irregular fold; crease.

rumple

/ ˈrʌmpəl /

verb

1. to make or become wrinkled, crumpled, ruffled, or dishevelled

noun

1. a wrinkle, fold, or crease

Other Word Forms

• unrumpled adjective
• rumply adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rumple¹

1595–1605; < Dutch rompelen (v.), rompel (noun)

Word History and Origins

Origin of rumple¹

C17: from Middle Dutch rompelen ; related to Old English gerumpen creased, wrinkled

Example Sentences

In contrast, Burton was performance art — rumpled, often rude, too fidgety to sit in long policy meetings.

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Clad in mismatched outfits and standing casually in the sand, they looked more like a rumpled rock band than the future of American architecture.

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In the post, a pistol flanked by two assault rifles lay on a rumpled white bedsheet.

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It's the little cues that make “Poker Face” a TV comfort quilt, joining highbrow humor and an accessible tone, with Lyonne’s benevolent energy and rumpled chic holding it all together.

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Skarsgård makes Luthen more rumpled and prone to rage about the grave he’s dug for himself even as he preaches that fighting fascism requires radical sacrifice.

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Related Words

• derange 
• dishevel