wrinkle
1 Americannoun
-
a small furrow or crease in the skin, especially of the face, as from aging or frowning.
-
a temporary slight ridge or furrow on a surface, due to contraction, folding, crushing, or the like.
verb (used with object)
-
wrinkles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wrinkled,
past participle, past
-
wrinkling
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
wrinkles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wrinkled,
past participle, past
-
wrinkling
present participle
noun
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
wrinklesimple
-
wrinklessimple
-
have wrinkledperfect
-
has wrinkledperfect
-
am wrinklingprogressive
-
are wrinklingprogressive
-
is wrinklingprogressive
-
have been wrinklingperfect progressive
-
has been wrinklingperfect progressive
Past
-
wrinkledsimple
-
had wrinkledperfect
-
was wrinklingprogressive
-
were wrinklingprogressive
-
had been wrinklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of wrinkle1
1375–1425; late Middle English (noun), back formation from wrinkled, Old English gewrinclod, past participle of gewrinclian to wind round; perhaps akin to wrick, wrench
Origin of wrinkle2
1375–1425; late Middle English, equivalent to wrinc trick ( Old English wrenc; see wrench) + -le
Explanation
If you work to iron a stubborn wrinkle out of your shirt, you're trying to smooth out a crease. A wrinkle is a dent or line where that smoothness is interrupted. You might fret about a wrinkle in your skirt or a new wrinkle on your face. Another kind of wrinkle is more figurative: a small complication or problem that arises suddenly. You could describe a torrential rain storm as a wrinkle in your plan to film a sunny scene in your movie, for example. The Old English root is gewrinclod, "wrinkled, crooked, or winding," and it comes from the verb wrinclian, "to wind."
Vocabulary lists containing wrinkle
"The Forgotten Treasure" and "There Is No Word for Goodbye"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 13–October 19, 2024
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Young"
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Discovery merger adds a new wrinkle for news divisions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
A huge wrinkle is that larger cities and metro areas benefit from economies of scale that help insulate them: they can afford dedicated OT security staff and redundant control systems.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
The strength of the response was tied more closely to how sharp each wrinkle was than to how tall it was.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
The wrinkle that angers buyers is that by event time, comparable replacement tickets on StubHub can cost significantly more than the customer originally paid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
“I was just looking at the way you wrinkle your forehead. That’s why you get those headaches.”
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
These include PFAS—or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances—to repel water and stains, formaldehyde-releasing resins to resist wrinkles, biocides to control odor, silicone softeners and dyes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The lyric is built almost entirely from humble, monosyllabic words: a warm smile, a soft cheek, a laugh that wrinkles the nose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Sculptra is particularly interesting for this theme because it stimulates collagen production, rather than simply filling wrinkles.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
But this was a preseason game, a time to work out the many wrinkles, and the Chargers have more than three weeks before they open the regular season at home against Arizona.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
This seems like a good way to show her how here I am, but she wrinkles her nose.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
As gray and wrinkled as the bottom of a mummy’s foot, the Cyclops’ face is wonderfully askew, like he was stepped on by someone even bigger than him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
But based on the success of the streaming series “The Mandalorian,” set around the title bounty hunter, we can all agree that his charge Grogu — green, wrinkled, big-eyed Baby You-Know-Who — is still adorable.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
These small, wrinkled rodents can live for decades, rarely develop cancer, and seem unusually protected from many of the diseases that normally arrive with age.
From Science Daily ● May 10, 2026
The soap-bubble fantasy of Ms. Lemann’s New Orleans rather calls to mind the Hundred Acre Wood, if Christopher Robin were a gentle, dissipated loafer in a wrinkled seersucker suit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
It had come out of the hawk’s case so smooth, but now it was wrinkled and a little damp in places.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
Those affected often develop early skin wrinkling, loss of skin elasticity, reduced body fat, hair loss, hardened arteries, and insulin resistance.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 7, 2025
But when I met him on the banks of the River Coln just outside Fairford, he was wrinkling his nose.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024
For example, in Inuit culture, people often communicate with facial expressions, like raising their eyebrows for “yes” or wrinkling their nose for “no.”
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
Those eyebrows start to rise again, the nose wrinkling: Brandi joy face is on its way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2022
But today, Mama Ya-Ya sits across from me, her brows wrinkling like cornrows.
From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
