variants
or shrivelled
as in withered
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variants
or shrivelled
as in drained
to become small and wrinkly usually as a result of dehydration
Without irrigation, these plants would shrivel (up) and die.
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Dissimilar Words
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Recent Examples of shriveled
Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 16 Feb. 2026
To avoid finding shriveled potatoes in your pantry, start with fresh, firm potatoes.
—Lauren David, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026
New stems can become shriveled and fall off the plant, and whole segments might drop if the plant struggles with depleted soil and a too-small pot.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2025
Lighter pieces that look shriveled signals that the ginger root has lost most of its moisture from sitting in storage or on the shelf too long.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 11 Dec. 2025
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Feb. 2026
Bake until tomatoes are shriveled, 30 to 35 minutes.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Many plants look shriveled up and dead, but are actually just conserving water and energy during the cold winter months.
—Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 11 Feb. 2026
In earlier work, Rosenblatt’s team watched as some cells dumped their water and shriveled up like raisins before being extruded; indeed, this shrinkage seemed to kick off the process.
—Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2026
Even if a single berry is moldy, leaky, or shriveled, this could mean the berries are not fresh or juicy at all, says Hall.
—Kirsten Nunez, Martha Stewart, 31 Dec. 2025
Her once fearsome Cantonese-speaking maternal grandfather is shrivelled and ailing.
—E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2025
North America has lost some 3 billion birds — nearly a third of its birdlife — since 1970, in part because places like the Colorado River Delta have shriveled under the strain of human development.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Once one of the planet’s largest saltwater lakes, Urmia has shriveled over the past decades.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Properly watering succulents keeps them healthy and prevents problems like root rot and shriveled leaves.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 16 Feb. 2026
To avoid finding shriveled potatoes in your pantry, start with fresh, firm potatoes.
—Lauren David, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2026
New stems can become shriveled and fall off the plant, and whole segments might drop if the plant struggles with depleted soil and a too-small pot.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Dec. 2025
Lighter pieces that look shriveled signals that the ginger root has lost most of its moisture from sitting in storage or on the shelf too long.
—Jillian Kubala, Health, 11 Dec. 2025
Verb
After the blooms on your moth orchid (Phalaenopsis) have shriveled and fallen off the plant, you're left with a long, bare green stem (technically called a spike).
—Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Feb. 2026
Bake until tomatoes are shriveled, 30 to 35 minutes.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 13 Feb. 2026
Many plants look shriveled up and dead, but are actually just conserving water and energy during the cold winter months.
—Ashley Chalmers, The Spruce, 11 Feb. 2026
In earlier work, Rosenblatt’s team watched as some cells dumped their water and shriveled up like raisins before being extruded; indeed, this shrinkage seemed to kick off the process.
—Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 12 Jan. 2026
Even if a single berry is moldy, leaky, or shriveled, this could mean the berries are not fresh or juicy at all, says Hall.
—Kirsten Nunez, Martha Stewart, 31 Dec. 2025
Her once fearsome Cantonese-speaking maternal grandfather is shrivelled and ailing.
—E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2025
North America has lost some 3 billion birds — nearly a third of its birdlife — since 1970, in part because places like the Colorado River Delta have shriveled under the strain of human development.
—Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 15 Dec. 2025
Once one of the planet’s largest saltwater lakes, Urmia has shriveled over the past decades.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shriveled
Adjective
-
Floridians can see it in the withered tones of roadside vegetation and hear it in the dry crunch of their once-green lawns.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Among other moves this offseason, the Kings traded Jonas Valančiūnas for the withered remains of Dario Šarić and passed on a golden opportunity to lock in 3-and-D wing Keon Ellis at a value rate by declining his team option and re-signing him as a restricted free agent.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Huskies drained five 3-pointers in the third after hitting just four in the first half with Ziebell knocking down a pair in the final two minutes of the quarter.—
Emily Adams,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
-
CEOs are struggling to switch off, Ko says, and making high-stakes decisions while their mental batteries are drained.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In front of the butcher’s near where the painter lives, a vendor, wizened and bent, sets up shop.—
Amir Ahmadi Arian,
The Dial,
15 Jan. 2026
-
But more alarming than the ways in which this physical space could turn against us was the simple metaphor of a wizened little man pulling a boat down a river in the dark.—
Ann Patchett,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Beyond cost and cleanliness In conventional battery production, active materials, carbon additives and binders are mixed into a wet slurry, coated onto metal foil and dried.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Silgranit sinks can be cleaned with a mixture of dish soap and vinegar, which will need to sit for at least an hour if there are any hard water deposits before being rinsed and dried.—
Lauren Wicks,
Southern Living,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Nitibhon, a Thai supermodel, plays her tycoon as comically drab, keeping her gaunt cheeks slack to emphasize her character’s hollowness.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Regina was standing by the window now, looking even more gaunt under the artificial light of the bulb behind her and the faint glow of the sunrise in front, which barely managed to filter through the balcony awning.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In 2024, researchers at LNET reported building a nanoscale HV device using silicon nanopillars, in which fluid samples evaporated in the channels created by the spaces between them.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Feb. 2026
-
As the final seconds of the third period evaporated, the American players left the ice and went to their locker room.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In Oklahoma's Panhandle, fires have scorched nearly 300,000 acres, while blazes in the Texas Panhandle have burned just under 20,000 acres.—
Brandi D. Addison,
USA Today,
19 Feb. 2026
-
Unfazed as the first shooter of the event — and the first player introduced to the masses — Knueppel scorched the nets to the tune of 27 points.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The 175-foot-tall structure at the K West Reactor, roughly the height of a 17-story building, collapsed in seconds after explosives were triggered at its base.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2026
-
But as machines moved in, mining jobs dwindled and the local economy collapsed.—
Cecilia Vega,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shriveled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shriveled. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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