shrink

CEFRC1

/ˈʃɹɪŋk/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To become or make something smaller.

  2. 02

    noun

    A doctor who treats mental or emotional problems.

Examples

  • He had but one desire: to shrink away and live among the lights and shadows.

  • If you wish to get on in the world, you must not shrink from effort.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To become smaller; to contract.

  2. To cower or flinch.

  3. To cause to become smaller.

More examples

In context

  • That material's going to shrink if it's washed.

  • Molly shrank away from the blows of the whip.

  • The dryer shrank my sweater.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

If you wash that wool sweater in hot water, it will blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English schrynken, from Old English sċrincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”). The sense “psychologist, psychotherapist” is a clipping of head-shrinker.