shrunken

adjective

shrunk·​en ˈshrəŋ-kən How to pronounce shrunken (audio)
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 Designed specifically as a smart home controller, the Echo Hub is a slimline version of an Echo Show 8 or a shrunken version of a Show 15. Wes Davis, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2023 The tight confines result in cramped arrow keys, a shrunken right Shift key, and a column of page and line navigation keys on the right edge. Mark Knapp, PCMAG, 4 Sep. 2023 More tips to fix shrunken clothes The method above works best on stretchy items like t-shirts and sweatpants. Maryal Miller Carter, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2023 Today’s shrunken Establishment, by contrast, is basically a subsidiary of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 18 Aug. 2023 Nauta retired from the Navy after Trump left the White House and went to work for the former president at Mar-a-Lago, one of the few constants in Trump’s shrunken orbit at the time. Alan Feuer, BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2023 Availability of talent and a shrunken internal market also create conditions for more businesses to start opening up in the country with a focus on international markets. Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 18 July 2023 Mackie’s dolls were essentially wearing shrunken couture. Evan Nicole Brown, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 July 2023 Few things in this world are more wholesome than a manatee and her calf floating effortlessly while grazing, yet this iconic symbol of Florida’s wildlife has been replaced by the image of the shrunken husks of the dead washed up on lifeless shores. Time, 12 July 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shrunken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of shrink entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shrunken was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near shrunken

Cite this Entry

“Shrunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrunken. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

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