shrivel

/ˈʃrɪvəl/

/ˈʃrɪvəl/

Other forms: shrivelled; shriveled; shrivels; shrivelling; shriveling

When things shrivel, they wrinkle up and get smaller, the way leaves begin to shrivel and turn brown in the fall.

A lack of moisture can cause something to shrivel, and in humans it tends to be the natural process of aging that makes people shrivel a bit. Flowers will shrivel if you forget to water them, and grapes will eventually shrivel into raisins if you dry them out long enough. The root of shrivel is uncertain, but it may have a Scandinavian source and be related to the Swedish word skryvla, "to wrinkle."

Definitions of shrivel

1. verb

   wither, as with a loss of moisture
   “The fruit dried and shriveled”

   synonyms: shrink, shrivel up, wither

   types:

   atrophy

   undergo weakening or degeneration as through lack of use

   blast

   shrivel or wither or mature imperfectly

   die back, die down

   suffer from a disease that kills shoots

   dry up, mummify

   dry up and shrivel due to complete loss of moisture

   type of:

   decrease, diminish, fall, lessen

   decrease in size, extent, or range
2. verb

   decrease in size, range, or extent
   “My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me”

   synonyms: shrink

   type of:

   decrease, diminish, fall, lessen

   decrease in size, extent, or range