shrinkable

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

shrink /ʃrɪŋk/   v., shrank /ʃræŋk/  or, often, shrunk /ʃrʌŋk/ ; shrunk or shrunk•en /ˈʃrʌŋkən/ ;
shrink•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to (cause to) contract or lessen in size: [no object]
   clothes that shrink if washed in hot water.
   [~ + object]
   Hot water will shrink some of those clothes.
2. to (cause to) become reduced in extent, amount, or value: [no object]
   The bank's resources are shrinking.
   [~ + object]
   Inflation and taxation are shrinking our resources.
3. to draw back;
   move back suddenly, as in horror:
   [no object* (~ + back)] to shrink from danger; She shrank back in her seat as the horror movie got even nastier.

n. [countable]

4. Slang Terms a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst.

shrink•a•ble, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

shrink  (shringk), v., shrank or, often, shrunk;
shrunk or shrunk•en;
shrink•ing;
 n. 
v.i. 

1. to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance:
   to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact.
2. to contract or lessen in size, as from exposure to conditions of temperature or moisture:
   This cloth will not shrink if washed in lukewarm water.
3. to become reduced in extent or compass.

v.t. 

4. to cause to shrink or contract;
   reduce.
5. Textiles to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.

n. 

6. an act or instance of shrinking.
7. a shrinking movement.
8. shrinkage.
9. Slang Terms Also, shrinker. Also called head shrinker. a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst.

• bef. 900; 1955–60 for def. 9; Middle English schrinken, Old English scrincan; cognate with Middle Dutch schrinken, Swedish skrynka to shrink, Norwegian skrukka old shrunken woman

shrink′a•ble, adj. 
shrink′ing•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. withdraw, recoil, quail. See wince. 
• 3. See decrease. 

Antonyms

• 3. increase.