shrunken

[ shruhng-kuh n ]

/ ˈʃrʌŋ kən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shrunken ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

a past participle of shrink.

Nearby words

Related formsun·shrunk·en, adjective

shrink

[ shringk ]

/ ʃrɪŋk /

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.

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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shrink ON THESAURUS.COM

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 shrunken

And I like the way you carried your mic pack like it was a shrunken head.
A Reality TV Competition About Reading? Literary Death Match Wants a Show|Melissa Goldstein|December 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I miss the strife His shrunken staff, his hungry wife Inflame chafe!
The Song of Newt Gingrich: From Longshot To Hotshot To No Shot||April 26, 2012|DAILY BEAST
So says Thomas Hobbes, whose definition of all laughter illuminates those moments when we smugly parade past the shrunken giants.
GOP Primaries Provide a Feast for Our Schadenfreude Appetite|Eric G. Wilson|January 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
With a taut, shrunken face, a penchant for cocaine injections, and a fondness for disguise and deception, Holmes is his own Hyde.
How Sherlock Holmes Took on the Capitalists|Ian Klaus|December 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST

One sweater, in particular, a short-sleeve, shrunken crewneck, was charmingly marked by teardrop-shaped dollops of teal blue.
Milan’s Day-Glo Exuberance|Robin Givhan|September 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
All the fluids of the eye escaped leaving it sightless and shrunken, and so it remained ever after.
Revolutionary Reader|Sophie Lee Foster
Had she shrunken since he left her or was he grown so much huskier with the out of door life?
The Search|Grace Livingston Hill
Allow it to remain in this way until it has shrunken sufficiently from the pan, and then lift off the pan.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 4|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
Pani turned her head mournfully from side to side, and the shrunken lips made no reply.
A Little Girl in Old Detroit|Amanda Minnie Douglas
The man was shrunken, knock-kneed, eccentric in dress and manner, and leaned heavily on his cane.
A Tale of the Tow-Path|Homer Greene

British Dictionary definitions for shrunken

shrunken

/ (ˈʃrʌŋkən) /

verb

a past participle of shrink

adjective

(usually prenominal) reduced in sizea shrunken head

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 shrunken

shrunken

adj.

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

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.

shrink

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

shrunken

verb

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

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

Origin of shrink

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for shrunken

shrunken

verb

adjective

shrink

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

noun

Word Origin for shrink

shrunken

shrink

shrink