variants
or shrunken
1
as in compressed
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in flinched
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
shrinking back from the approaching flames
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in diminished
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shrunk
The chain has shrunk to 426 Steak ‘n Shake locations as of 2024, from its peak of over 600.
—
Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2025
By early 2004, Janus Capital had shrunk to $145 billion in assets.
—Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
Labor shortages have shrunk harvests while tariffs have upped import prices.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
My eyes shrunk to slits, trying to spot the glow sticks that The Medellín Cartel had affixed to their bounty, which slowly lit up the water’s surface like fluorescent fireflies.
—Martin Suarez, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2025
Americans have generally endorsed the death penalty, though the gap between those who favor it and those who don’t has shrunk to 10 points.
—Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Officials confirmed that in August, the lake's water level was just under 1,270 meters, its surface area had shrunk to 581 square kilometers, and its volume had plunged to half a billion cubic meters, down from 2 billion cubic meters in 2024, underscoring the speed of the decline.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
His administration’s cuts have already shrunk the agency’s staff.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2025
It's now shrunk to about 1,700 square kilometers (656 square miles), or roughly the size of Greater London, Meijers says.
—Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, 5 Sep. 2025
Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 18 Sep. 2025
By early 2004, Janus Capital had shrunk to $145 billion in assets.
—Aldo Svaldi, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2025
Labor shortages have shrunk harvests while tariffs have upped import prices.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
My eyes shrunk to slits, trying to spot the glow sticks that The Medellín Cartel had affixed to their bounty, which slowly lit up the water’s surface like fluorescent fireflies.
—Martin Suarez, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2025
Americans have generally endorsed the death penalty, though the gap between those who favor it and those who don’t has shrunk to 10 points.
—Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Officials confirmed that in August, the lake's water level was just under 1,270 meters, its surface area had shrunk to 581 square kilometers, and its volume had plunged to half a billion cubic meters, down from 2 billion cubic meters in 2024, underscoring the speed of the decline.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
His administration’s cuts have already shrunk the agency’s staff.
—Briah Lumpkins, Charlotte Observer, 9 Sep. 2025
It's now shrunk to about 1,700 square kilometers (656 square miles), or roughly the size of Greater London, Meijers says.
—Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrunk
Verb
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Stock indexes released to new highs and Treasury yields compressed toward five-month lows as investors took the uptick in weekly jobless claims as permission to look through 3%-ish inflation and price in multiple Fed rate hikes.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
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According to Spotify, Bluetooth currently doesn’t provide enough bandwidth to transmit lossless audio, so the signal has to be compressed before being sent.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These images of an expanding Kong appeared on the screen and the actors on stage in front of it flinched in horror as the dwarfing image of Kong’s bigness loomed menacingly behind them.—
Christopher Smith,
Oc Register,
10 Sep. 2025
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The last time Congress faced a deadline to extend government funding, Senate Democrats flinched, giving Republicans the votes needed to avert a government shutdown without extracting any concessions.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In reality, some groups of enemies are just much easier to defeat by sticking to a single weapon, even if the damage output is diminished.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2025
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This is significant because China represents a substantial portion of revenue for EDA vendors, and the uncertainty has diminished confidence just as local competitors are being encouraged by Beijing to enter the market.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Plus, the faux leather material has some give, so your foot won’t feel constricted.—
Shea Simmons,
People.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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But the binary choice between a single state and two separate ones is false, unnecessarily constricted.—
Hussein Agha,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Videos recorded by witnesses at the Utah Valley University event showed Kirk being shot in the neck and bleeding heavily as his body recoiled.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
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As detailed in Tina Fey’s 2011 memoir, Bossypants, Jimmy Fallon, who was also in the show’s cast at the time, jokingly recoiled and told Poehler to stop it.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The study led by Phillips that published last year found that the vaccine reduced signs of chlamydia during a koala's breeding age and decreased death from the disease by 64%.—
Chandelis Duster,
NPR,
14 Sep. 2025
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Darrow says the orchard’s acreage has decreased by half, mirroring the state’s overall decline since 2000.—
Mark Dent,
HubSpot,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The piece, decorated with spherical lapis lazuli beads, vanished from a safe in a conservation laboratory on September 9.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
18 Sep. 2025
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But that goodwill appeared to have vanished by Wednesday.—
David K. Li,
NBC news,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Mendoza declined multiple requests for an interview and did not provide comments in response to ProPublica’s letters detailing the case.—
ProPublica,
ProPublica,
13 Sep. 2025
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Citing the ongoing investigation, police declined to release further details.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shrunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrunk. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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