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wrinkle

1
[ ring-kuh l ]
/ ˈrɪŋ kəl /
|
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noun

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), wrin·kled, wrin·kling.

to form wrinkles in; corrugate; crease: Don't wrinkle your dress.

verb (used without object), wrin·kled, wrin·kling.

to become wrinkled.

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RELATED WORDS

scrunch, rumple, pucker, crease, crumple, corrugation, gather, ridge, tuck, plica, line, contraction, pleat, depression, furrow, crisp, compress, purse, twist, ruck

Nearby words

  1. wright, willard huntington,
  2. wrigley,
  3. wring,
  4. wring together,
  5. wringer,
  6. wrinklies,
  7. wrinkly,
  8. wrist,
  9. wrist joint,
  10. wrist pin

Origin of wrinkle

1
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

wrinkle

2
[ ring-kuh l ]
/ ˈrɪŋ kəl /

noun Informal.

an ingenious trick or device; a clever innovation: a new advertising wrinkle.

Origin of wrinkle

2
1375–1425; late Middle English, equivalent to wrinc trick (Old English wrenc; see wrench) + -le
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wrinkle

British Dictionary definitions for wrinkle

wrinkle

1
/ (ˈrɪŋkəl) /

noun

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

verb

to make or become wrinkled, as by crumpling, creasing, or puckering
Derived Formswrinkleless, adjectivewrinkly, adjective

Word Origin for wrinkle

C15: back formation from wrinkled, from Old English gewrinclod, past participle of wrinclian to wind around; related to Swedish vrinka to sprain, Lithuanian reñgti to twist. See wrench

noun

informal a clever or useful trick, hint, or dodge

Word Origin for wrinkle

Old English wrenc trick; related to Middle Low German wrank struggle, Middle High German ranc sudden turn. See wrench
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 wrinkle
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper