shrivel
[ shriv-uhl ]
/ ˈʃrɪv əl /
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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.
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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”; see scurf
synonym study for shrivel
1. See wither.
OTHER WORDS FROM shrivel
un·shriv·eled, adjectiveun·shriv·elled, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for shrivel
British Dictionary definitions for shrivel
shrivel
/ (ˈʃrɪvəl) /
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 for shrivel
C16: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Swedish dialect skryvla wrinkle
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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