shrunk

verb

variants or shrunken
past participle of shrink
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

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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 decreased
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shrunk While the project’s overall footprint shrunk in size, Commissioners Chad Martin and John Shultz voted against the project. — Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 27 Sep. 2026 So did Cameron Young and Justin Thomas and Chris Gotterup in the early part of the lineup as the deficit shrunk and soon turned into another comfortable victory. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026 Its economy has shrunk by ten per cent since the start of this war. — Robin Wright, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026 In the last 30 years, the number of domestic maritime suppliers has shrunk dramatically. — George Whittier, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026 In recent years, the company's workforce has shrunk as part of a reorganization effort. — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026 After the plague arrived in South Dakota in 2005, the acreage occupied by prairie dogs near Badlands National Park shrunk by three quarters within a decade, despite concomitant efforts to rein in the disease. — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 21 Sep. 2026 Giant-planet rings are already known to shift over months and years; Saturn’s D ring has measurably shrunk, and Neptune’s Adams arcs rearrange themselves. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 19 Sep. 2026 The 2020 census places Black Angelenos at just 8% of the city’s population, the fifth census in a row where the community’s share has shrunk. — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrunk
  1. compressed
  2. flinched
  3. decreased
  4. constricted
  5. recoiled
  6. diminished
  7. declined
  8. vanished
Verb
  • The biggest drag on the index was independent power producers (like Constellation, NRG, and Vistra), whose earnings multiples have compressed anywhere from 2 to 8 turns from their recent peaks.
    — Michael Khouw, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In another, an agent apparently compressed data into a roughly 35 KB file and uploaded it through ntfy, but investigators could not recover the file to determine its contents.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of compressed
Verb
  • The teen in the green sweatshirt, Williams, momentarily flinched from the gunshot.
    — Meredith Colias-Pete, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Sipp slightly flinched his left arm before throwing a pitch to Emmanuel Burriss, allowing Miguel Tejada to score and sending San Francisco to its fourth straight win.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026
Definition of flinched
Verb
  • This means any slowdown in the labor market could create a more serious consumption problem, with the same households facing slower income growth and decreased access to credit.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026
  • And the number of young people who stayed on medication for six months — already quite low — may have actually decreased.
    — Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of decreased
Verb
  • Many still want to offer extended sizing but are constricted by what retailers, responding to the rise of GLP-1s, are willing to carry.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The narrow hallways were constricted with people trying to escape the fire.
    — Saleh Mwanamilongo, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of constricted
Verb
  • Even a few Republican loyalists have recoiled at the extravagant pageantry, seemingly designed to flatter Xi and awe a domestic audience, although the absence of TV cameras at the Rose Garden ceremony undermined that low-ambition objective.
    — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2026
  • The Colts bit on it, but Mahomes recoiled and looked over the middle of the field.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of recoiled
Verb
  • That is quite far apart from the commercial industry, which actually stands to be diminished by these policy reforms.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 7 Oct. 2026
  • By raw numbers, net domestic out-migration of Californians to other states continues even as the California exodus overall has diminished in strength.
    — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of diminished
Verb
  • Police initially declined to share details about the victim beyond his age and gender to The Times on Thursday night.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Warsh at the start of the summer declined to say whether rates should rise.
    — Taylor Millard, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of declined
Verb
  • But on Thursday came the news that the statue, a symbol of pride in the Old North Sacramento neighborhood, had vanished.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • But the Rams’ 16-0 halftime lead literally vanished into thin air.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of vanished

Browse Nearby Words

shrugs off
shrunk
shtick
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Cite this Entry

“Shrunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrunk. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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