English Explanatory Dictionary

shrink

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To cause to become smaller.
To become smaller; to contract.
To cower or flinch.
To draw back; to withdraw.
To withdraw or retire, as from danger.
To move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.

noun

Shrinkage; contraction; recoil.
A psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
Loss of inventory, for example due to shoplifting or not selling items before their expiration date.

Pronunciation

/ˈʃɹɪŋk/ En-au-shrink.ogg

Word forms

shrink shrinks shrinking shrank shrunk shrunken

Etymology

From Middle English schrynken, from Old English sċrincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”). The sense “psychologist, psychotherapist” is a clipping of head-shrinker.

Synonyms

funk shirk shrink back retreat flinch head-shrinker shrinker

Antonyms

expand grow enlarge stretch

Derived words

head-shrinker nonshrink nonshrinkable nonshrinking overshrink preshrink reshrink shrinkability shrinkable shrink away shrink back shrink down shrinkee shrinkflate shrinkflation shrinking frog shrinking violet shrinkproof shrink up shrink-wrap shrinkwrap shrinky sinew-shrunk unshrink unshrinkable unshrinking unshrinkingly antishrink grocery shrink ray headshrink heat shrink shrink rate shrink ray shrink-swell shrinkwrap license shrink-wrapped

Translations

Finnish: luistaa Finnish: laistaa Finnish: luikkia German: sich drücken Greek: λουφάρω Ancient Greek: ὀκνέω Japanese: 尻込みする Korean: 움츠러지다 Korean: 움츠리다 Korean: 움츠러들다 Spanish: zafarse Spanish: rehuir Spanish: correrse

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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