1
as in crumpling
to create (as by crushing) an irregular mass of creases in
scrunched up the shirt and tossed it in the laundry
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in crouching
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of scrunching
In the meantime, Atomi encourages people to try the supine core and toe-scrunching exercises at home.
—
Lindsey Leake, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026
He could be seen scrunching his face in anticipation.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground and use your toes to grab and curl the towel toward you, scrunching it up several times before switching sides.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 26 Dec. 2025
To re-create the style, Abramite recommends adding mousse to damp hair and blow-drying with a diffuser while scrunching for volume at the roots and expansion throughout.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 9 Oct. 2025
And some ankle booties with wedge heels might appear moderate, but can actually throw your weight onto the balls of your feet, scrunching your toes up against the toe box.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 26 Aug. 2025
But on a multi-night getaway, scrunching a sweatshirt behind your head gets old fast.
—Emily Pennington, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2025
Lindsey Leake, NBC news, 29 Apr. 2026
He could be seen scrunching his face in anticipation.
—Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground and use your toes to grab and curl the towel toward you, scrunching it up several times before switching sides.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 26 Dec. 2025
To re-create the style, Abramite recommends adding mousse to damp hair and blow-drying with a diffuser while scrunching for volume at the roots and expansion throughout.
—Marci Robin, Allure, 9 Oct. 2025
And some ankle booties with wedge heels might appear moderate, but can actually throw your weight onto the balls of your feet, scrunching your toes up against the toe box.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 26 Aug. 2025
But on a multi-night getaway, scrunching a sweatshirt behind your head gets old fast.
—Emily Pennington, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrunching
Verb
-
Moses Moody scored 23 points before crumpling to the floor with an apparently serious left knee injury late in overtime as the Golden State Warriors beat Dallas 137-131 on Monday night, extending the Mavericks' home losing streak to 12 games, their longest in 32 years.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Late on, with the game already won, James Garner and substitute Merlin Rohl chased Enzo Fernandez, sending him crumpling to the turf.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Bystander video captured the sound of at least seven shots and showed people crouching and running for cover.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Fortune,
15 June 2026
-
Bystander video captured the sound of at least seven shots and showed people crouching and running for cover.—
Michael R. Sisak,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
Verb
-
Moore argues the city should be doing annual sand management, rather than scraping for funds and coming up short each time the larger-scale project comes around.—
Laylan Connelly,
Oc Register,
18 June 2026
-
Keeping the burners on high and using the scraping tool or a bench scraper, scrape at a roughly 45-degree angle to remove the rust or the stuck-on food.—
Ann Taylor Pittman,
Southern Living,
18 June 2026
Verb
-
The two folding chairs are also lightweight, yet sturdy enough to hold up to 350 pounds.—
Kate Donovan,
Southern Living,
22 June 2026
-
Samsung's folding phones are the market leaders for now.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
21 June 2026
Verb
-
Repairing Furniture There are few misfortunes greater than scratching a new piece of dark wood furniture.—
Joey Skladany,
Southern Living,
17 June 2026
-
Unless Drury is just scratching the surface as a 26-year-old, his 27 points in 82 regular-season games aren’t as promising a sign as his postseason highlights.—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Dryer sheets soften and release wrinkles in fabrics that are prone to wrinkling, such as cotton and linen.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
19 June 2026
-
As celebrity stylist Ron Jefferies suggested during my interview, try to stick with cotton fabrics and poly-blends to avoid wrinkling.—
Irene Richardson,
InStyle,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
When my grandchildren were around recently, Marie was gritting her teeth because her nerves were so frayed.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
7 June 2026
-
The director, a graduate of the AFI conservatory, spent two summers growing up gritting his teeth at an all-boys sleepaway sports camp.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scrunching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrunching. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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