Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
shrunken [shruhng-kuh n] SynonymsExamples See more synonyms for shrunken on Thesaurus.com verb
- a past participle of shrink.
Related formsun·shrunk·en, adjective shrink [shringk] verb (used without object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.
- to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance: to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact.
- 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.
- to become reduced in extent or compass.
verb (used with object), shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk·en; shrink·ing.
- to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.
- Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.
noun
- an act or instance of shrinking.
- a shrinking movement.
- shrinkage.
- 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 shrunken dry, wilted, contracted, diminished, shriveled, wrinkled Examples from the Web for shrunken Contemporary Examples of shrunken
And I like the way you carried your mic pack like it was a shrunken head.
A Reality TV Competition About Reading? Literary Death Match Wants a Show
Melissa Goldstein
December 13, 2012
I miss the strife His shrunken staff, his hungry wife Inflame chafe!
The Song of Newt Gingrich: From Longshot To Hotshot To No Shot
April 26, 2012
So says Thomas Hobbes, whose definition of all laughter illuminates those moments when we smugly parade past the shrunken giants.
GOP Primaries Provide a Feast for Our Schadenfreude Appetite
Eric G. Wilson
January 19, 2012
With a taut, shrunken face, a penchant for cocaine injections, and a fondness for disguise and deception, Holmes is his own Hyde.
How Sherlock Holmes Took on the Capitalists
Ian Klaus
December 21, 2011
One sweater, in particular, a short-sleeve, shrunken crewneck, was charmingly marked by teardrop-shaped dollops of teal blue.
Robin Givhan
September 26, 2011
Historical Examples of shrunken
Mike had shrunken into his allenveloping coat with pathetic moroseness.
W. A. Fraser
The girl slid her arm under his neck, and then his shrunken hand was at rest.
Hall Caine
His nose, which seemed to have grown longer, descended over his shrunken lips.
Anatole France
The frame must once have been powerful, but now it was shrunken and emaciated.
Jerome K. Jerome
How shrunken with the sorrow of their wretched lives, and yet how sportive they seem!
F. Colburn Adams
British Dictionary definitions for shrunken shrunken verb
- a past participle of shrink
adjective
- (usually prenominal) reduced in sizea shrunken head
shrink verb shrinks, shrinking, shrank, shrunk, shrunk or shrunken
- to contract or cause to contract as from wetness, heat, cold, etc
- to become or cause to become smaller in size
- (intr often foll by from)
- to recoil or withdrawto shrink from the sight of blood
- to feel great reluctance (at)to shrink from killing an animal
noun
- the act or an instance of shrinking
- 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 shrunken adj.
Old English gescruncan, past participle adjective from shrink (v.).
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.