shrivel

[shriv-uh l]

See more synonyms for shrivel on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object), shriv·eled, shriv·el·ing or (especially British) shriv·elled, shriv·el·ling.

to contract and wrinkle, as from great heat, cold, or dryness.
to wither; make or become helpless or useless.

Origin of shrivel

1595–1605; akin to Swedish skroflig uneven, rough (perhaps orig. wrinkled, shrunken), dialectal Swedish skryvla to wrinkle, Old English sceorfan to roughen; see scurf

Related formsun·shriv·eled, adjectiveun·shriv·elled, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms for shrivel on Thesaurus.com

1. shrink. See wither.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shriveled

Contemporary Examples

They became so brown and shriveled that they looked like walking beef jerky with New York accents.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’
Asawin Suebsaeng
January 7, 2015
The bone marrow of the dead soldiers was depleted dramatically, and their lymph nodes had shriveled away.
Sarin, Nitrogen Mustard, Cyanide & More: All About Chemical Weapons
Kent Sepkowitz
August 26, 2013
A dreadful disease, possibly muscular dystrophy, had shriveled his legs.
Enough With This 'Lost Cause' Nonsense
Justin Green
February 19, 2013
As the upstate economy has shriveled, the state government has come to rely heavily on the financial sector as a revenue source.
What Paterson Got Right
Reihan Salam
March 5, 2010

Historical Examples

She half-rose, her head thrust forward on her shriveled neck.
The Best Short Stories of 1920
Various
The shriveled leaves were blown from the trees by the fierce gusts.
A Little Girl in Old Detroit
Amanda Minnie Douglas
I am sure you have seen the corn blades all shriveled on very hot days.
Agriculture for Beginners
Charles William Burkett
And I saw too that underneath, toward the back, was a shriveled body.
Wandl the Invader
Raymond King Cummings
Out of the shadows an old woman, bent and shriveled, leaned toward us.
The Best Short Stories of 1917
Various

British Dictionary definitions for shriveled

shrivel

verb -els, -elling or -elled or US -els, -eling or -eled

to make or become shrunken and withered
to lose or cause to lose vitality

Word Origin

C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dialect skryvla wrinkle

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 shriveled

shrivel

v.

1560s (implied in shriveled), of unknown origin, not found in Middle English; perhaps from a Scandinavian source (cf. Swedish skryvla "to wrinkle, to shrivel"), perhaps ultimately connected with shrimp (n.) and shrink (v.). Related: Shriveled; shriveling.

shrivel

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}shrivel

Synonyms

Examples from the Web for shriveled

Contemporary Examples

They became so brown and shriveled that they looked like walking beef jerky with New York accents.

The bone marrow of the dead soldiers was depleted dramatically, and their lymph nodes had shriveled away.

A dreadful disease, possibly muscular dystrophy, had shriveled his legs.

As the upstate economy has shriveled, the state government has come to rely heavily on the financial sector as a revenue source.

Historical Examples

She half-rose, her head thrust forward on her shriveled neck.

The shriveled leaves were blown from the trees by the fierce gusts.

I am sure you have seen the corn blades all shriveled on very hot days.

And I saw too that underneath, toward the back, was a shriveled body.

Out of the shadows an old woman, bent and shriveled, leaned toward us.

shrivel

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for shriveled

shrivel

v.

Origin of shrivel