shrink

[ shringk ]

/ ʃrɪŋk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shrink ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.

to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance: to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact.

to contract or lessen in size, as from exposure to conditions of temperature or moisture: This cloth will not shrink if washed in lukewarm water.

to become reduced in extent or compass.

verb (used with object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.

to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.

Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.

noun

an act or instance of shrinking.

a shrinking movement.

shrinkage.

Also shrinker. Also called head shrinker. Slang. a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst.

Nearby words

shrimp plant, shrimper, shrimpfish, shrine, shriner, shrink, shrink fit, shrink-wrap, shrink-wrapped, shrinkage, shrinker

Origin of shrink

before 900; 1955–60 for def 9; Middle English schrinken, Old English scrincan; cognate with Middle Dutch schrinken, Swedish skrynka to shrink, Norwegian skrukka old shrunken woman

SYNONYMS FOR shrink

1 withdraw, recoil, quail.

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ANTONYMS FOR shrink

3 increase.

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Related forms

shrink·a·ble, adjectiveshrink·ing·ly, adverbnon·shrink·a·ble, adjectivenon·shrink·ing, adjective

non·shrink·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·shrink, verb, o·ver·shrank or, often, o·ver·shrunk; o·ver·shrunk or o·ver·shrunk·en; o·ver·shrink·ing.un·shrink·a·ble, adjectiveun·shrink·ing, adjectiveun·shrink·ing·ly, adverb

Synonym study

1. See wince¹. 3. See decrease.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shrinking

Mr. Wynd said the shrinking process includes filling the head with hot sand and boiling it with herbs.
Dodo Bones and Kylie’s Poo: Inside London’s Strangest New Museum|Liza Foreman|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For the first time in American history, rural areas are shrinking.
Andrew Cuomo Ignores Rural New York|David Fontana|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The already-tiny group of volunteers and health-care workers in West Africa is shrinking.
Doctors Without Borders Hits Ebola Breaking Point|Abby Haglage, Kent Sepkowitz|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Shrinking ad revenue in the digital era has caused outlets to scale back on everything.
It Was All a Dream: Drama, Bullshit, and the Rebirth of The Source Magazine|Alex Suskind|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

If the pictures are new, the news of the Aral Sea shrinking is old.
The Aral Sea's Disappearing Act|Anna Nemtsova|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She stopped before the table, timid and shrinking as though she felt a presentiment of danger, but making an effort to smile.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse|Vicente Blasco Ibanez
Anyone there would have taken his dying oath that the thing aimed for his shrinking vitals and none other's.
Old Judge Priest|Irvin S. Cobb
The mob was dissolving into thin smoke, and the horizon was shrinking.
Flamedown|Horace Brown Fyfe
And with his torch he burned stripes down the arms and legs of the shrinking Chulavete.
Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2)|Carl Lumholtz
Mr Benson caught the new look of shrinking shame in Leonard's eye, as it first sought, then shunned, meeting his.
Ruth|Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

British Dictionary definitions for shrinking

shrink

/ (ʃrɪŋk) /

verb shrinks, shrinking, shrank, shrunk, shrunk or shrunken

to contract or cause to contract as from wetness, heat, cold, etc

to become or cause to become smaller in size

(intr often foll by from)

to recoil or withdrawto shrink from the sight of blood
to feel great reluctance (at)to shrink from killing an animal

noun

the act or an instance of shrinking

slang a psychiatrist

Derived Formsshrinkable, adjectiveshrinker, nounshrinking, adjectiveshrinkingly, adverb

Word Origin for shrink

Old English scrincan; related to Old Norse skrokkr torso, Old Swedish skrunkin wrinkled, Old Norse hrukka a crease, Icelandic skrukka wrinkled woman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shrinking (1 of 2)

shrink

Old English scrincan "to draw in the limbs, contract, shrivel up; wither, pine away" (class III strong verb; past tense scranc, past participle scruncen), from Proto-Germanic *skrink- (cf. Middle Dutch schrinken), probably from PIE root *(s)ker- (3) "to turn, bend."

Originally with causal shrench (cf. drink/drench). Sense of "become reduced in size" recorded from late 13c. The meaning "draw back, recoil" (early 14c.) perhaps was suggested by the behavior of snails. Transitive sense, "cause to shrink" is from late 14c. Shrink-wrap is attested from 1961 (shrinking-wrap from 1959). Shrinking violet "shy person" attested from 1882.

Word Origin and History for shrinking (1 of 2)

shrink

"an act of shrinking," 1580s, from shrink (v.). Slang meaning "psychiatrist," (1966) is from head-shrinker.

shrink

verb (used without object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.

verb (used with object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.

noun

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Origin of shrink

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Examples from the Web for shrinking

British Dictionary definitions for shrinking

shrink

verb shrinks, shrinking, shrank, shrunk, shrunk or shrunken

noun

Word Origin for shrink

Word Origin and History for shrinking (1 of 2)

shrink

Word Origin and History for shrinking (1 of 2)

shrink