shrivel
verb
shriv·el
| \ ˈshri-vəl
, especially Southern ˈsri-\
, especially Southern ˈsri-\
shriveled
or shrivelled;
shriveling
or shrivelling\ ˈshri-vəl-iŋ
, ˈsri- ; ˈshriv-liŋ , ˈsriv- \
, ˈsri- ; ˈshriv-liŋ , ˈsriv- \
Definition of shrivel
1
: to draw into wrinkles especially with a loss of moisture
2a
: to become reduced to inanition, helplessness, or inefficiency
b
: dwindle
: to cause to shrivel
Examples of shrivel in a Sentence
plants shriveling in the heat
Recent Examples on the Web
But without that triumph at Wembley, the crowds would have shrivelled. — SI.com, "Sir Alex Ferguson: The Serial Winner Whose Trophy Haul Rewrote Football History," 16 Aug. 2019 No dryness, no cracking, no lip peelies dangling about, no shriveled sad looking lips. — Braelyn Wood, Health.com, "The Laneige Lip Mask Is so Hydrating, I haven't had Chapped Lips in Three Years," 15 Aug. 2019 Her brain was shriveled and filled with clumps of proteins—which scientists later identified as amyloid beta and tau. — Katherine Ellen Foley, Quartz, "There are a lot of promising blood tests for Alzheimer’s—here’s how to keep track," 1 Aug. 2019 When the mermaid was presented to Barnum, he was immediately taken with the shrivelled creature. — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, "What P. T. Barnum Understood About America," 29 July 2019 If any of your answers to these questions is no, your markets may shrivel. — Fortune, "We Don’t Live on 1.75 Earths—but We Act Like We Do," 29 July 2019 During the current season, Univision’s prime-time audience has shriveled to 1.3 million viewers. — Meg James, latimes.com, "Univision owners want to sell. After 12 years and $13 billion, what went wrong?," 15 July 2019 By 2013 the number of attacks had shrivelled to 15. — The Economist, "The Gulf of Guinea is now the world’s worst piracy hotspot," 29 June 2019 Annual sales had shriveled to $16.7 billion, off from $49 billion in 2005. — Soma Biswas, WSJ, "Sears to Stay Open After Edward Lampert Prevails in Bankruptcy Auction," 16 Jan. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shrivel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for shrivel
shrivel
verb
English Language Learners Definition of shrivel
: to become dry and wrinkled from heat, cold, or old age
: to cause (something) to become dry and wrinkled
See the full definition for shrivel in the English Language Learners Dictionary
shrivel
verb
shriv·el
| \ ˈshri-vəl
\
\
shriveled
or shrivelled;
shriveling
or shrivelling
Kids Definition of shrivel
: to shrink and become dry and wrinkled
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