shrink

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has a past tense shrank and a past participle shrunk, but shrunken is the normal adjectival form in both physical and abstract senses:

She was a thin sickly child with a tremendous head of dark curly hair, a tiny shrunken face and enormous eyes—S. Stewart, 1991

Eliot discussed the shrunken sense in which 'culture' was applied to the arts—R. Crawford, 1990.

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verb

1. To reduce in size, as by drawing together: compact¹, compress, constrict, constringe, contract. See increase/decrease.
2. To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust: blench¹, cringe, flinch, quail, recoil, shy¹, start, wince. See approach/retreat, seek/avoid.

noun

An act of drawing back in an involuntary or instinctive fashion: cringe, flinch, recoil, wince. See approach/retreat, seek/avoid.

v

Definition: become smaller
Antonyms: develop, enlarge, expand, grow, increase, stretch

v

Definition: recoil, shy away
Antonyms: expand, face, increase, meet, take on

If we dream about shrinking, perhaps the dream relates to our childhood. Alternatively, maybe we are "feeling small." When other things shrink, it may be a representation that they are playing a smaller role in our life than formerly. We also sometimes refer to shy people as "shrinking violets," and to psychiatrists as "shrinks." (See also Little; Small).

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noun
noun

= shrink noun. (1967 —) .
J. B. Hilton It had to be the clinic for her. Maybe they'd left it too late; or maybe she was too clever for the shrinkers (1980).

[Shortening of head-shrinker noun.]

Previous:	shrink, shrimp, shrewd-head
Next:	shroom, shtick, shtook

For a list of words related to shrink, see:

• Tools, Techniques, Principles, and Practitioners - shrink: Slang. psychotherapist
• Behavior or Personality

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See words rhyming with "shrinker."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Shrink.

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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - krympe, krybe ind, skrumpe ind, svinde, vige tilbage for, kvie sig ved
v. tr. - få til at krympe
n. - psykolog

Nederlands (Dutch)
krimpen, inkrimpen, terugdeinzen, slinken, samenkrimpen, psychiater

Français (French)
v. intr. - se contracter, réduire, reculer, se rapprocher (des limites), être en recul, s'amenuiser, se tasser, se dérober devant
v. tr. - faire rétrécir, contracter, (Anthrop) réduire (une tête)
n. - psy, psychanalyste, psychiatre

Deutsch (German)
v. - sich scheuen, zurückweichen, schrumpfen, einlaufen, sich zusammenziehen
n. - Schrumpfen, (Slang) Psychiater

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - μαζεύω, ζαρώνω, συρρικνώνω/-ομαι, κατσιάζω, μαραγκιάζω, (για υφάσματα) μπαίνω
n. - ζάρωμα, (καθομ.) ψυχαναλυτής

Italiano (Italian)
indietreggiare, restringersi, contrarsi, contrazione, psicoanalista

Português (Portuguese)
v. - encolher, contrair
n. - retração (f), redução (f)

Русский (Russian)
усадка (ткани), давать усадку, вызывать усадку, сжиматься, сокращать, усыхать, вызывать усыхание, исчезать

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - retroceder, encogerse, contraerse, encoger, acortarse, estrecharse, disminuir, mermar, agacharse, retirarse, apartarse
v. tr. - encoger, contraer, reducir, mermar, marchitar, preparar (las telas) para que no encojan
n. - encogimiento, psiquiatra, merma, acción de rehuir

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - krympa, minska, sjunka ihop, skrumpna
n. - krympning, hjärnkrympare, psykiater

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
收缩, 萎缩, 退缩, 使收缩, 使缩小, 畏缩

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 收縮, 萎縮, 退縮
v. tr. - 使收縮, 使縮小
n. - 收縮, 畏縮, 萎縮

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 오그라들다, 움츠리다, ~에 기가 죽다
v. tr. - 수축시키다, (쇠테 따위를) 가열하여 끼우다, (천을) 방축 가공하다
n. - 뒷걸음질 치기, 수축, 정신과 의사

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 縮む, しりごみする, 避ける, 減る
n. - 収縮, しりごみ, 精神科医

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) ينكمش أو يتقلص, يتضائل (الاسم) مقدار ألتقلص‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮התכווץ, הצטמק‬
v. tr. - ‮כיווץ, נרתע מ-‬
n. - ‮התכווצות, פסיכיאטר‬

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