shrink
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 scope.
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.
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
1synonym study For shrink
Other words for shrink
Opposites for shrink
Other words from shrink
- shrink·a·ble, adjective
- shrink·ing·ly, adverb
- non·shrink·a·ble, adjective
- non·shrink·ing, adjective
- non·shrink·ing·ly, adverb
- o·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, adjective
- un·shrink·ing, adjective
- un·shrink·ing·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for shrink
/ (ʃrɪŋk) /
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 withdraw: to shrink from the sight of blood
to feel great reluctance (at): to shrink from killing an animal
the act or an instance of shrinking
slang a psychiatrist
Origin of shrink
1Derived forms of shrink
- shrinkable, adjective
- shrinker, noun
- shrinking, adjective
- shrinkingly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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