shrunken

adjective

shrunk·​en ˈshrəŋ-kən 

ˈsrəŋ-

: reduced in size : made less or smaller

After he'd lost nearly thirty pounds, his shrunken face disclosed itself to us as a replica of my elderly grandmother's …

—Philip Roth

… I had … a closet filled with shrunken clothes I'd blasted in the dryer …

—Caitlin Moscatello

… minerals and salts are more and more concentrated in the shrunken stream as it evaporates under the southwestern Sun.

—Jonathan Weiner

A netbook is a laptop with a shrunken screen, an undersize keyboard and a processor that's so slow, you'd have laughed at it in 2007.

—David Pogue

Yet the reality is that the public finances are going to be in an even bigger mess and the economy more shrunken than in the economic crisis of 2008/09.

—Ross Clark

… millions of people are unable to afford mortgage payments on homes with shrunken values.

—Arthur Delaney

The shrunken national attention span that television has fostered will probably reduce significantly the readership for this massive biography …

—Harry F. Waters

Examples of shrunken in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Inside the museum, Browne’s fall 2026 collection returned to the gray tailoring that defined his early work, sending shrunken jackets, slim trousers and pleated skirts down the runway alongside looks styled with Asics Gel-Kayano 14 runners as part of his collaboration with the brand. —Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 7 Feb. 2026

Soak the shrunken garment in the mixture for about 30 minutes. —Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2026

In its place, the 2026 Leaf rocks a cleaner, more SUV-like silhouette that looks like a shrunken Ariya. —New Atlas, 30 Dec. 2025

Knitted from a soft mix of alpaca, yak and merino wool, the $149 sweater features a ribbed V-neckline and a subtly shrunken silhouette. —Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 19 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of shrink entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for shrunken

• drunken
• sunken