scrunched

past tense of scrunch
1
2
as in crouched
to lie low with the limbs close to the body the climbers scrunched down on the leeward side of a large boulder and waited for the storm to pass

Synonyms & Similar Words

3
as in scraped
to press or strike against or together so as to make a scraping sound scrunched loose gravel with every footstep

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of scrunched The cast scrunched out easily, leaving curls soft and natural-looking. Malia Griggs, Glamour, 30 Sep. 2025 Kavya tugs on my arm, her nose is scrunched up, eyebrows discombobulated. Navdeep Singh Dhillon, Parents, 21 Aug. 2025 An image of his little face, scrunched in discomfort, but no sound coming from his little mouth, was instantly clear. Zoë Jones, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2025 GloRilla tapped into a too-cool-for-school uniform aesthetic at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, styling plaid with black peep-toe platform shoes and scrunched white socks. Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrunched
Verb
  • Of course Swift’s legion of devotees would scoff at the notion that their heroine was anything but a pop goddess, their very own Glinda the Good Witch sent to comfort with lyrical poetry and aid crumpled hearts.
    Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Barkov crumpled to the ice during the team’s first full preseason practice after minor contact Thursday.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The dance began with Irwin crouched atop a Jeep suped up for safari, with the junior conservationist correspondingly decked in the head-to-toe khaki uniform made famous by his dad.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Sep. 2025
  • In one instance, a colleague entered Aber’s office to find an inmate crouched under his desk, according to an affidavit filed against Aber in the criminal case.
    Shelly Bradbury, Denver Post, 16 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Ricci scraped together a $27,000 loan, but still came up $500 short.
    Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Cindric scraped the outside wall on his qualifying lap and will start 26th.
    Reid Spencer, Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Those rosters from the past were mostly homegrown, with a few veterans expertly folded in.
    Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • Army leaders say the Switchblade is one of several technologies being folded into armored units as the service adapts lessons from Ukraine and other conflicts, where drones have played an outsized role.
    Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Others are sleeping, huddled in doorways to keep warm and safe.
    Ashley Hiruko, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Meatball huddled with his bent cops, to figure out how to shut Kearney up once and for all.
    Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 24 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Every plot point is wrinkled or changed in some fundamental way.
    Joe Lynch, Billboard, 18 Oct. 2024
  • The vinyl decals, featuring salmon crying to get beyond the first of the dams, were wrinkled, the banner itself battle-scarred in places.
    Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 12 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • The lucky ticket scratched by Hawkins was for the $100,000 Extreme Cash game, according to lottery officials.
    Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025
  • With the envelope rule enforced, the match was scratched and the scoreboard adjusted to 12–5.
    Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Island Records emerged victorious, and despite being crunched for time, Thrice’s 2003 major label debut, The Artist in the Ambulance, became a foundational record to the post-hardcore subgenre.
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Sumac slush crunched underfoot.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Scrunched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrunched. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

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