Adjacent Words

Shrivel definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHRIVEL, v.i. shriv'l. [from the root of rivel.] To comtract; to draw or be drawn into wrinkles; to shrink and form corrugations; as, a leaf shrivels in the hot sun; the skin shrivels with age.
SHRIV'EL, v.t. To contract into wrinkles; to cause to shrink into corrugations. A scorching sun shrivels the blades of corn.
Snd shrivel'd herbs on withering stems decay. Dryden.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: wither, as with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled" [syn: shrivel, shrivel up, shrink, wither]
2: decrease in size, range, or extent; "His earnings shrank"; "My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me" [syn: shrink, shrivel]

Merriam Webster's

verb (-eled or -elled; -eling or shrivelling) Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1565 intransitive verb 1. to draw into wrinkles especially with a loss of moisture 2. a. to become reduced to inanition, helplessness, or inefficiency b. dwindle transitive verb to cause to shrivel

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. & intr. (shrivelled, shrivelling or US shriveled, shriveling) contract or wither into a wrinkled, folded, rolled-up, contorted, or dried-up state. Etymology: perh. f. ON: cf. Sw. dial. skryvla to wrinkle

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shrivel Shriv"el, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Shriveledor Shrivelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Shriveling or Shrivelling.] [Probably akin to shrimp, shrink; cf. dial. AS. screpa to pine away, Norw. skrypa to waste, skryp, skryv, transitory, frail, Sw. skr["o]pling feeble, Dan. skr["o]belig, Icel. skrj?pr brittle, frail.] To draw, or be drawn, into wrinkles; to shrink, and form corrugations; as, a leaf shriveles in the hot sun; the skin shrivels with age; -- often with up.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shrivel Shriv"el, v. t. To cause to shrivel or contract; to cause to shrink onto corruptions.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(shrivels, shrivelling, shrivelled) Note: in AM, use 'shriveling', 'shriveled' When something shrivels or when something shrivels it, it becomes dryer and smaller, often with lines in its surface, as a result of losing the water it contains. The plant shrivels and dies. ...dry weather that shrivelled this summer's crops. VERB: V, V n • Shrivel up means the same as shrivel. The leaves started to shrivel up. PHRASAL VERB: V P • shrivelled It looked old and shrivelled. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Parch, dry, dry up. II. v. n. Shrink, contract, dwindle, wither, decrease, wrinkle.

Moby Thesaurus

Sanforize, age, air-dry, anhydrate, attenuate, bake, blot, brush, burn, cheat the undertaker, consume, contract, cure, curl up, decline, dehumidify, dehydrate, desiccate, diminish, dodder, drain, droop, dry, dry up, emacerate, emaciate, evaporate, exsiccate, fade, fade away, fail, fire, flag, fossilize, get along, get on, grow old, insolate, kiln, languish, macerate, mummify, mummy, parch, pine, preshrink, pucker up, rub, scorch, sear, shake, shrink, shrivel up, sink, smoke, soak up, sponge, sun, sun-dry, swab, thin, torrefy, totter, towel, turn gray, turn white, wane, waste, waste away, weazen, welter, wilt, wipe, wither, wizen, wrinkle