SHRUNKEN

shriveled, shrivelled, shrunken

(adjective) reduced in efficacy or vitality or intensity; “our shriveled receipts during the storm”; “as the project wore on she found her enthusiasm shriveled”; “the dollar’s shrunken buying power”

shriveled, shrivelled, shrunken, withered, wizen, wizened

(adjective) lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness; “the old woman’s shriveled skin”; “he looked shriveled and ill”; “a shrunken old man”; “a lanky scarecrow of a man with withered face and lantern jaws”-W.F.Starkie; “he did well despite his withered arm”; “a wizened little man with frizzy grey hair”

SHRINK

shrink, contract

(verb) become smaller or draw together; “The fabric shrank”; “The balloon shrank”

shrink, reduce

(verb) reduce in size; reduce physically; “Hot water will shrink the sweater”; “Can you shrink this image?”

shrivel, shrivel up, shrink, wither

(verb) wither, as with a loss of moisture; “The fruit dried and shriveled”

flinch, squinch, funk, cringe, shrink, wince, recoil, quail

(verb) draw back, as with fear or pain; “she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

shrunken

past participle of shrink

Adjective

shrunken (comparative more shrunken, superlative most shrunken)

Reduced in size as a result of shrinkage; shrivelled.

Source: Wiktionary


Shrunk"en, p. p. & a.

Definition: from Shrink.

SHRINK

Shrink, v. i. [imp. Shrank or Shrunk p. p. Shrunk or Shrunken (, but the latter is now seldom used except as a participial adjective; p. pr. & vb. n. Shrinking.] Etym: [OE. shrinken, schrinken, AS. scrincan; akin to OD. schrincken, and probably to Sw. skrynka a wrinkle, skrynkla to wrinkle, to rumple, and E. shrimp, n. & v., scrimp. CF. Shrimp.]

1. To wrinkle, bend, or curl; to shrivel; hence, to contract into a less extent or compass; to gather together; to become compacted. And on a broken reed he still did stay His feeble steps, which shrunk when hard thereon he lay. Spenser. I have not found that water, by mixture of ashes, will shrink or draw into less room. Bacon. Against this fire do I shrink up. Shak. And shrink like parchment in consuming fire. Dryden. All the boards did shrink. Coleridge.

2. To withdraw or retire, as from danger; to decline action from fear; to recoil, as in fear, horror, or distress. What happier natures shrink at with affright, The hard inhabitant contends is right. Pope. They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task. Jowett (Thucyd.)

3. To express fear, horror, or pain by contracting the body, or part of it; to shudder; to quake. [R.] Shak.

Shrink, v. t.

1. To cause to contract or shrink; as, to shrink finnel by imersing it in boiling water.

2. To draw back; to withdraw. [Obs.] The Libyc Hammon shrinks his horn. Milton. To shrink on (Mach.), to fix (one piece or part) firmly around (another) by natural contraction in cooling, as a tire on a wheel, or a hoop upon a cannon, which is made slightly smaller than the part it is to fit, and expanded by heat till it can be slipped into place.

Shrink, n.

Definition: The act shrinking; shrinkage; contraction; also, recoil; withdrawal. Yet almost wish, with sudden shrink, That I had less to praise. Leigh Hunt.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

17 April 2025

SPONGE

(noun) a porous mass of interlacing fibers that forms the internal skeleton of various marine animals and usable to absorb water or any porous rubber or cellulose product similarly used


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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