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shrunken

[shruhng-kuh n]
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verb
  1. a past participle of shrink.
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Related formsun·shrunk·en, adjective

shrink

[shringk]
verb (used without object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.
  1. to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance: to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact.
  2. 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.
  3. to become reduced in extent or compass.
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verb (used with object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.
  1. to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.
  2. Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.
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noun
  1. an act or instance of shrinking.
  2. a shrinking movement.
  3. shrinkage.
  4. Also shrinker. Also called head shrinker. Slang. a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst.
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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
Related formsshrink·a·ble, adjectiveshrink·ing·ly, adverbnon·shrink·a·ble, adjectivenon·shrink·ing, adjectivenon·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

Synonyms

See more synonyms for shrink on Thesaurus.com
1. withdraw, recoil, quail.

Synonym study

1. See wince1. 3. See decrease.

Antonyms

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

Examples from the Web for shrunken

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Mike had shrunken into his allenveloping coat with pathetic moroseness.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • The girl slid her arm under his neck, and then his shrunken hand was at rest.

    The Scapegoat

    Hall Caine

  • His nose, which seemed to have grown longer, descended over his shrunken lips.

    Balthasar

    Anatole France

  • The frame must once have been powerful, but now it was shrunken and emaciated.

  • How shrunken with the sorrow of their wretched lives, and yet how sportive they seem!

    An Outcast

    F. Colburn Adams

British Dictionary definitions for shrunken

shrunken

verb
  1. a past participle of shrink
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adjective
  1. (usually prenominal) reduced in sizea shrunken head
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shrink

verb shrinks, shrinking, shrank, shrunk, shrunk or shrunken
  1. to contract or cause to contract as from wetness, heat, cold, etc
  2. to become or cause to become smaller in size
  3. (intr often foll by from)
    1. to recoil or withdrawto shrink from the sight of blood
    2. to feel great reluctance (at)to shrink from killing an animal
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noun
  1. the act or an instance of shrinking
  2. slang a psychiatrist
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Derived Formsshrinkable, adjectiveshrinker, nounshrinking, adjectiveshrinkingly, adverb

Word Origin

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 shrunken

adj.

Old English gescruncan, past participle adjective from shrink (v.).

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shrink

v.

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.

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shrink

n.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper