shrink
Contents
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English shrinken, from Old English scrincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”).
VerbEdit
shrink (third-person singular simple present shrinks, present participle shrinking, simple past shrank or shrunk, past participle shrunk or shrunken)
- (transitive) To cause to become smaller.
- The dryer shrank my sweater.
- (intransitive) To become smaller; to contract.
- This garment will shrink when wet.
- Francis Bacon
- I have not found that water, by mixture of ashes, will shrink or draw into less room.
- Dryden
- And shrink like parchment in consuming fire.
- (intransitive) To cower or flinch.
- Molly shrank away from the blows of the whip.
- (transitive) To draw back; to withdraw.
- Milton
- The Libya Hammon shrinks his horn.
- Milton
- (intransitive, figuratively) To withdraw or retire, as from danger.
- Alexander Pope
- What happier natures shrink at with affright, / The hard inhabitant contends is right.
- Jowett (Thucyd.)
- They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task.
- Alexander Pope
- (intransitive) To move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms
SynonymsEdit
- (avoid an unwanted task): funk, shirk
- (withdraw or retire, as from danger): shrink back, retreat
AntonymsEdit
- (to cause to become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch
- (become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch
TranslationsEdit
intransitive: to contract, to become smaller
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transitive: to cause something to shrink
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to cower
intransitive: to attempt to avoid an unwanted or intimidating duty
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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NounEdit
shrink (plural shrinks)
- Shrinkage; contraction; recoil.
- Yet almost wish, with sudden shrink, / That I had less to praise. — Leigh Hunt.
- (slang, sometimes pejorative) A psychiatrist or therapist; a head-shrinker.
- You need to see a shrink.
- My shrink said that he was an enabler, bad for me.
- 1994, Green Day, Basket Case
- I went to a shrink, to analyze my dreams. He said it's lack of sex that's bringing my down.
Usage notesEdit
- The slang sense was originally pejorative, expressing a distrust of practitioners in the field. It is now not as belittling or trivializing.
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
psychiatrist or therapist (informal, belittling)
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.