shrunk

shrunk [shruhngk] SynonymsExamples See more synonyms for shrunk on Thesaurus.com verb

1. a past participle and simple past tense of shrink.

Related formsun·shrunk, adjective shrink [shringk] verb (used without object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.

1. to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance: to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact.
2. to contract or lessen in size, as from exposure to conditions of temperature or moisture: This cloth will not shrink if washed in lukewarm water.
3. to become reduced in extent or compass.

verb (used with object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.

4. to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.
5. Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.

noun

6. an act or instance of shrinking.
7. a shrinking movement.
8. shrinkage.
9. Also shrinker. Also called head shrinker. Slang. a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst.

Origin of shrink before 900; 1955–60 for def 9; Middle English schrinken, Old English scrincan; cognate with Middle Dutch schrinken, Swedish skrynka to shrink, Norwegian skrukka old shrunken womanRelated formsshrink·a·ble, adjectiveshrink·ing·ly, adverbnon·shrink·a·ble, adjectivenon·shrink·ing, adjectivenon·shrink·ing·ly, adverbo·ver·shrink, verb, o·ver·shrank or, often, o·ver·shrunk; o·ver·shrunk or o·ver·shrunk·en; o·ver·shrink·ing.un·shrink·a·ble, adjectiveun·shrink·ing, adjectiveun·shrink·ing·ly, adverbSynonyms for shrink See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 1. withdraw, recoil, quail. Synonym study 1. See wince1. 3. See decrease.Antonyms for shrink 3. increase. Related Words for shrunk wane, dwindle, shorten, reduce, wither, decrease, lessen, diminish, narrow, shrivel, weaken, recede, retreat, wrinkle, compress, condense, deflate, concentrate, contract, fail Examples from the Web for shrunk Contemporary Examples of shrunk

No surprise then that aside from wealthy coastal suburbs, the Democratic base has shrunk to the urban cores and college towns.

Time to Bring Back the Truman Democrats

Joel Kotkin

December 21, 2014

I was shown how much the value of my life had shrunk on my very first day in the state system.

A Million Ways to Die in Prison

Daniel Genis

December 8, 2014

This is all true even as the distance between standards of living in the United States and other developed countries has shrunk.

This One Picture of Telly Savalas Refutes All Fears That Progress Has Ended

Nick Gillespie

October 30, 2014

Cleveland may have shrunk, but it remains relevant both numerically and as a cautionary tale.

Cleveland, LeBron James, and the 2016 Republican Convention

Lloyd Green

July 14, 2014

He was “overwhelmed by the feeling” that “the Suffolk expanses” had “shrunk once and for all to a single, blind, insensate spot.”

Walking In The Footsteps Of W.G. Sebald, Hiker, Novelist, Strange Genius

Edward Platt

June 5, 2014

Historical Examples of shrunk

Tories and Liberals knew he had not shrunk from meeting the public on this question.

The Grand Old Man

Richard B. Cook

She shrank, as many a woman has shrunk before, from confronting him with his lie.

K

Mary Roberts Rinehart

Miss Dorcas, too, had heard it, and shrunk from its undisguised profanity.

Meadow Grass

Alice Brown

They had shrunk past homeless people, lying coiled up in nooks.

Little Dorrit

Charles Dickens

Of course the town had shrunk fearfully, since I was a child there.

The Uncommercial Traveller

Charles Dickens

British Dictionary definitions for shrunk shrunk verb

1. a past participle and past tense of shrink

shrink verb shrinks, shrinking, shrank, shrunk, shrunk or shrunken

1. to contract or cause to contract as from wetness, heat, cold, etc
2. to become or cause to become smaller in size
3. (intr often foll by from)
   1. to recoil or withdrawto shrink from the sight of blood
   2. to feel great reluctance (at)to shrink from killing an animal

noun

4. the act or an instance of shrinking
5. slang a psychiatrist

Derived Formsshrinkable, adjectiveshrinker, nounshrinking, adjectiveshrinkingly, adverbWord Origin for shrink Old English scrincan; related to Old Norse skrokkr torso, Old Swedish skrunkin wrinkled, Old Norse hrukka a crease, Icelandic skrukka wrinkled woman Word Origin and History for shrunk shrink v.

Old English scrincan “to draw in the limbs, contract, shrivel up; wither, pine away” (class III strong verb; past tense scranc, past participle scruncen), from Proto-Germanic *skrink- (cf. Middle Dutch schrinken), probably from PIE root *(s)ker- (3) “to turn, bend.”

Originally with causal shrench (cf. drink/drench). Sense of “become reduced in size” recorded from late 13c. The meaning “draw back, recoil” (early 14c.) perhaps was suggested by the behavior of snails. Transitive sense, “cause to shrink” is from late 14c. Shrink-wrap is attested from 1961 (shrinking-wrap from 1959). Shrinking violet “shy person” attested from 1882.

shrink n.

“an act of shrinking,” 1580s, from shrink (v.). Slang meaning “psychiatrist,” (1966) is from head-shrinker.