wrinkle

[ring-kuh l]

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.

Origin of wrinkle

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

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

Related Words for wrinkling

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

Examples from the Web for wrinkling

Contemporary Examples of wrinkling

Khan looks youthful—even at 29, she seems like a teen—peeking out from underneath chunky bangs and wrinkling her button nose.
Indie Rock's Bewitching New Siren
Rachel Syme
May 7, 2009

Historical Examples of wrinkling

"Well," she said, compressing her lips, and wrinkling her forehead in resignation.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
"Oh, this dreadful war," Mullally exclaimed, wrinkling his features.
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine
Judith as she kissed him was wrinkling her smooth brows at him.
Miss Pat at School
Pemberton Ginther
Mayo studied his passenger for some time, wrinkling his brows.
Blow The Man Down
Holman Day
"I don't seem to get hold of it, yet," said Eunice, wrinkling her forehead.
Cricket at the Seashore
Elizabeth Westyn Timlow

British Dictionary definitions for wrinkling

wrinkle

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

wrinkle

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 wrinkling

wrinkle

c.1400 (implied in wrinkling), probably from stem of Old English gewrinclod "wrinkled, crooked, winding," past participle of gewrinclian "to wind, crease," from perfective prefix ge- + -wrinclian "to wind," from Proto-Germanic *wrankjan (see wrench (v.)). Related: Wrinkled.

wrinkle

"fold or crease in the extenal body," late 14c.; in cloth or clothing from early 15c., probably from wrinkle (v.). Meaning "defect, problem" first recorded 1640s; that of "idea, device, notion" (especially a new one) is from 1817.