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Synonyms for shrinking

Grammar : Adj
Spell : shringk
Phonetic Transcription : ʃrɪŋk


Définition of shrinking

Origin :
  • Old English scrincan "to draw in the limbs, contract, shrivel up; wither, pine away" (class III strong verb; past tense scranc, past participle scruncen), from Proto-Germanic *skrink- (cf. Middle Dutch schrinken), probably from PIE root *(s)ker- (3) "to turn, bend."
  • Originally with causal shrench (cf. drink/drench). Sense of "become reduced in size" recorded from late 13c. The meaning "draw back, recoil" (early 14c.) perhaps was suggested by the behavior of snails. Transitive sense, "cause to shrink" is from late 14c. Shrink-wrap is attested from 1961 (shrinking-wrap from 1959). Shrinking violet "shy person" attested from 1882.
  • adj shy
Example sentences :
  • These shrinking hairs, they feared not death, but they seemed to fear Malbone.
  • Extract from : « Malbone » by Thomas Wentworth Higginson
  • "Not so—not so," said the Dominican, shrinking from those fierce eyes.
  • Extract from : « Fair Margaret » by H. Rider Haggard
  • "No, no," she gasped, shrinking into the corner of the carriage.
  • Extract from : « Jennie Baxter, Journalist » by Robert Barr
  • "I will listen," she said, shrinking as yet from other speech.
  • Extract from : « Bride of the Mistletoe » by James Lane Allen
  • My mother did all she could for her, but was much baffled by her reserve and shrinking.
  • Extract from : « The Coryston Family » by Mrs. Humphry Ward
  • Shrinking, almost shivering, he still managed to hold himself together.
  • Extract from : « White Fang » by Jack London
  • The mob was dissolving into thin smoke, and the horizon was shrinking.
  • Extract from : « Flamedown » by Horace Brown Fyfe
  • He had a shrinking will; his instinct in an emergency was to back away from things.
  • Extract from : « Changing Winds » by St. John G. Ervine
  • Cave-walls and roof all shrinking, dwindling, drawing down upon him.
  • Extract from : « The World Beyond » by Raymond King Cummings
  • She approached with some shrinking begotten by a suspicion of what she was desired to see.
  • Extract from : « The Trampling of the Lilies » by Rafael Sabatini

Antonyms for shrinking

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019