Synonyms of shrinking

shrinking 1 of 3

adjective

as in afraid

Related Words

• afraid
• timid
• frightened
• scared
• terrified
• alarmed
• timorous
• tremulous
• worried
• aghast
• spooked
• panicked
• perturbed
• upset
• chicken
• fearsome
• horrified
• panicky
• fainthearted
• disquieted
• disturbed
• agitated
• fearful
• scary
• terrorized
• apprehensive
• tremulant
• hysterical
• affrighted
• disconcerted
• shocked
• phobic
• jittery
• horror-struck
• shy
• anxious
• nervous
• jumpy
• funky
• panic-stricken
• skittish
• cowed
• startled
• uneasy
• dismayed
• intimidated
• appalled
• wary
• daunted
• unnerved
• pusillanimous
• craven
• cautious
• cowardly
• coward
• careful
• gutless
• heedful
• unadventurous
• prudent
• lily-livered

Dissimilar Words

• fearless
• unafraid
• daring
• dashing
• plucky
• bold
• adventurous
• brave
• spirited
• venturesome
• composed
• heroic
• hardy
• audacious
• valiant
• stalwart
• spunky
• collected
• courageous
• gutsy
• unperturbed
• intrepid
• gallant
• sure
• stout
• confident
• sanguine
• cool
• daredevil
• valorous
• adventuresome
• assured
• venturous
• resolute
• undaunted
• manful
• dauntless
• lionhearted
• stouthearted

shrinking

2 of 3

noun

1

as in revulsion

Related Words

• revulsion
• recoil
• withdrawal
• retirement
• disengagement
• rout
• flinch
• recession
• retreat
• pullout
• pullback
• disentanglement

Dissimilar Words

• advance
• advancement

2

as in diminishing

Related Words

• diminishing
• reducing
• decreasing
• shortening
• contraction
• compression
• lessening
• curtailment
• abbreviation
• abridgment
• condensation
• abruptness
• shortness
• brusqueness
• curtness
• tautness
• crispness
• brevity
• succinctness
• terseness
• conciseness
• smallness
• briefness
• compendiousness
• laconism
• minuteness
• pithiness
• tininess
• littleness

Dissimilar Words

• stretching
• extending
• growth
• extension
• elongation
• expansion
• extensiveness
• elongating
• lengthiness
• prolongation
• prolonging
• spread
• protraction
• diffuseness
• bigness
• greatness
• prolixity
• volubility
• garrulousness
• largeness
• talkativeness
• bulkiness
• wordiness
• verboseness
• talkiness
• long-windedness
• heftiness

shrinking

3 of 3

verb

present participle of shrink

1

as in compressing

to become smaller in size or volume through the drawing together of particles of matter

the sweater will shrink a little when washed

Synonyms & Similar Words

• compressing
• decreasing
• condensing
• constricting
• collapsing
• contracting
• flattening
• diminishing
• retreating
• dwindling
• withdrawing
• shriveling
• receding
• lessening
• drying up
• withering
• deflating
• wilting
• abating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expanding
• swelling
• increasing
• growing
• accumulating
• ballooning
• snowballing
• inflating
• puffing (up)
• ballooning

2

as in recoiling

to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust

shrinking back from the approaching flames

Synonyms & Similar Words

• recoiling
• flinching
• wincing
• cringing
• shuddering
• trembling
• hesitating
• blenching
• quivering
• quailing
• shaking
• retreating
• squinching
• quaking
• blanching
• withdrawing
• receding
• whitening
• crouching
• faltering
• paling
• twitching
• retiring
• jerking
• starting
• wavering
• reeling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• approaching
• advancing
• nearing
• facing
• confronting
• challenging
• defying
• bearding

3

as in decreasing

to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually

his crush on her is likely to shrink after they start their new lives on different college campuses

Synonyms & Similar Words

• decreasing
• diminishing
• subsiding
• declining
• falling
• vanishing
• easing
• dwindling
• ebbing
• receding
• waning
• tapering
• moderating
• lessening
• lowering
• weakening
• evaporating
• dropping (off)
• dying (away or down or out)
• draining (away)
• falling away
• tapering off
• relenting
• ratcheting (down)
• remitting
• abating
• collapsing
• compressing
• racheting (down)
• palling
• letting up
• phasing down
• contracting
• constricting
• de-escalating
• condensing
• melting (away)
• alleviating
• slackening
• fading (away)
• slowing (down)
• relaxing
• frittering (away)
• tailing (off)
• petering (out)
• giving out
• sinking
• flagging
• deflating
• caving (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• increasing
• growing
• expanding
• rising
• building
• swelling
• enlarging
• mounting
• intensifying
• accumulating
• burgeoning
• escalating
• soaring
• emerging
• appearing
• picking up
• mushrooming
• ballooning
• waxing
• snowballing
• lengthening
• showing up
• blowing up
• elongating
• distending

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of shrinking

Adjective

Re-wash and dry the garment, using these tips to avoid re-shrinking, to prevent a residue from the conditioner from setting. — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2026

Noun

Hot water can cause shrinking, fraying, and pilling, which shortens the lifespan of your towels. — Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2026

Doubt and conflict flows through not just her searching eyes but also, in this case, a shrinking, defensive posture. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 15 Sep. 2026

The researchers think that the extremity of this shrinking has gone unnoticed previously because bombardment from space rocks over time has created craters that obscured the evidence of this process. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Before-and-after satellite images show a glacier shrinking and a river swelling. — Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2026

Progressive shrinking of specific regions of the brain, as well as accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain are associated with dementia. — Heidi Moawad, Verywell Health, 27 Aug. 2026

The ultra-soft,jersey-like fabric has a medium weight and a hint of stretch, which is meant to help resist pilling, shrinking, stretching out, and fading. — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2026

The political appetite for accepting the deindustrialization and critical dependencies that come with the flood of Chinese imports is finite and shrinking. — Michael B. G. Froman, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2026

Summary China's auto market is rapidly electrifying and shrinking, fueling an intense price war that's polarizing sales. — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Verb

Engineers can try to speed them up by shrinking the physical components or applying external magnetic forces. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2026

Rising logistics costs, shrinking margins and persistent supply chain volatility, in particular, are pushing leaders toward agentic AI and machine learning for demand forecasting and inventory placement. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026

When money was tight, the series faced slashed budgets and shrinking episodic orders that continually tested the cast and crew’s determination to keep it alive. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2026

Chicago Public Schools enrollment dropped 11,537 students this year, continuing a decades-long decline amid a shrinking number of school-aged children. — Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026

Both capture the shrinking aperture of opportunity in a country founded on the idea of limitless possibility. — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

But Orange, with its booming home sales and constant new construction, was buffered for years from shrinking student counts felt in other parts of the country. — Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026

Fazio’s announcement undermined one more preposterous claim by the shrinking figure that is Diamantis. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026

Increasing greenhouse gas concentrations, largely from burning fossil fuels, have pushed global temperatures so high that sea levels are rising, and shrinking glaciers and thawing permafrost are leaving mountainsides less stable. — Tarun Gopalakrishnan, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026

Phrases Containing shrinking

• shrinking violet