shrunken

1 of 2

adjective

: reduced in size : made less or smaller
After he'd lost nearly thirty pounds, his shrunken face disclosed itself to us as a replica of my elderly grandmother's …—Philip Roth
… I had … a closet filled with shrunken clothes I'd blasted in the dryer …—Caitlin Moscatello
… minerals and salts are more and more concentrated in the shrunken stream as it evaporates under the southwestern Sun.—Jonathan Weiner
A netbook is a laptop with a shrunken screen, an undersize keyboard and a processor that's so slow, you'd have laughed at it in 2007.—David Pogue
Yet the reality is that the public finances are going to be in an even bigger mess and the economy more shrunken than in the economic crisis of 2008/09.—Ross Clark
… millions of people are unable to afford mortgage payments on homes with shrunken values.—Arthur Delaney
The shrunken national attention span that television has fostered will probably reduce significantly the readership for this massive biography …—Harry F. Waters

shrunken

2 of 2

past participle of shrink entry 1

Examples of shrunken in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Adjective
The viral label also showed shrunken jackets and pleated skirts with exaggerated frays and cuffs, and chopped wide-leg jeans. — Angela Velasquez, Footwear News, 8 Oct. 2026 Her shrunken two-piece skirt suit—the jacket cropped to reveal her abs, the skirt extra-mini—perfectly encapsulated the cartoonish silhouette that Barbie so often rocks. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 7 Oct. 2026 The rundown by Coveteur of fall 2026 outerwear trends also flags military jackets, shrunken lapels, capes and silk jackets as looks worth watching. — Lauren Schuster, Charlotte Observer, 21 Sep. 2026 Coveteur reports other emerging outerwear looks this season include military jackets and shrunken lapels, along with capes and silk jackets. — Lauren Schuster, Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for shrunken

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from past participle of shrink entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shrunken was in the 15th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shrunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shrunken. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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