shrivel
To collapse inward; to crumbleTo collapse inward; to crumble.
» Mary shrivelled Tom with one glance.
Meaning
3 senses(intransitive)To collapse inward; to crumble.
The plant shrivelled from lack of water.
(intransitive)To become wrinkled.
His fingers were shriveled from being in the bath for too long.
schrumpeln, verschrumpeln
(transitive)To draw into wrinkles.
The hot sun shrivelled the leaves.
- wither, as with a loss of moisture
- decrease in size, range, or extent
Examples
9 sentencesMary shrivelled Tom with one glance.
His clothes hung baggily over his shrivelled limbs.
Damiano’s body has shrivelled to skin and bones.
Your vagina is not going to shrivel up like a prune.
Shrivelled leaves are wafting away on the evening breeze.
deVom Abendwind getrieben entschwebt welkes Laub.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
First recorded as shriveled (“shrivelled”), probably of North Germanic origin related to dFirst recorded as shriveled (“shrivelled”), probably of North Germanic origin related to dialectal Swedish skryvla (“to wrinkle, shrivel”); perhaps ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną (“to shrivel, shrink”) or *skrimpaną (“to shrink”).
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Forms
shrivels, shriveling, shriveled, shriveled| Base form | shrivel · to shrivel |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | shrivels |
| Present participle | shriveling |
| Past simple | shriveled / shrivelled |
| Past participle | shriveled / shrivelled |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
3 synonyms- wither, as with a loss of moisture:shrivel upshrinkwither
- decrease in size, range, or extent:shrink
Word family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle