wrinkle

¹ American  

[ring-kuhl] / ˈrɪŋ kəl /

noun

1. a small furrow or crease in the skin, especially of the face, as from aging or frowning.

2. a temporary slight ridge or furrow on a surface, due to contraction, folding, crushing, or the like.

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verb (used with object)

wrinkles, present (3rd person singular) wrinkled, past participle, past wrinkling present participle

1. to form wrinkles in; corrugate; crease.

   Don't wrinkle your dress.

verb (used without object)

wrinkles, present (3rd person singular) wrinkled, past participle, past wrinkling present participle

1. to become wrinkled.

wrinkle ² American  

[ring-kuhl] / ˈrɪŋ kəl /

noun

Informal.

1. an ingenious trick or device; a clever innovation.

   a new advertising wrinkle.

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wrinkle ¹ British  

/ ˈrɪŋkəl /

noun

1. a slight ridge in the smoothness of a surface, such as a crease in the skin as a result of age

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verb

1. to make or become wrinkled, as by crumpling, creasing, or puckering

wrinkle ² British  

/ ˈrɪŋkəl /

noun

1. informal a clever or useful trick, hint, or dodge

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• wrinkleless
  adjective
• wrinkly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• wrinkling
  present
• wrinkled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• wrinkle
  simple
• wrinkles
  simple
• have wrinkled
  perfect
• has wrinkled
  perfect
• am wrinkling
  progressive
• are wrinkling
  progressive
• is wrinkling
  progressive
• have been wrinkling
  perfect progressive
• has been wrinkling
  perfect progressive

Past

• wrinkled
  simple
• had wrinkled
  perfect
• was wrinkling
  progressive
• were wrinkling
  progressive
• had been wrinkling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will wrinkle
  simple
• will have wrinkled
  perfect
• will be wrinkling
  progressive
• will have been wrinkling
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

Everything about the discovery suggested the wrinkle structures should not exist in that setting.

From Science Daily • Jun. 26, 2026

But its allegation that Meta downloaded its films to train its AI bots, rather than just for personal enjoyment, is a new wrinkle for an old issue.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026

Both missions combine into one, with the wrinkle that Rotta doesn’t want to be returned to his relatives, whom he expects will kill him because he could potentially usurp them.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

Added to that another wrinkle: Powell will be the first outgoing chair in more than 70 years not to leave the board at the expiration of his term as its head.

From Barron's • May 13, 2026

Or it might have been just a wrinkle in the paper, magnified and darkened by the camera.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• crease
• crumple
• pucker
• rumple
• screw up
• scrunch