shrivel
English
Etymology
First recorded as shriveled (“shrivelled”), probably of North Germanic origin related to dialectal Swedish skryvla (“to wrinkle, shrivel”).
Pronunciation
Verb
shrivel (third-person singular simple present shrivels, present participle (UK) shrivelling or (US) shriveling, simple past and past participle (UK) shrivelled or (US) shriveled)
- (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.
- (transitive) To draw into wrinkles.
- The hot sun shrivelled the leaves.
Derived terms
Translations
collapse inward
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become wrinkled
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