as in to evaporate
to become small and wrinkly usually as a result of dehydration
Without irrigation, these plants would shrivel (up) and die.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shrivel
Against that enormous and dramatic chronological backdrop, the American Indians shriveled in significance.
—
Caroline Winterer / Made By History, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025
Catching Up With China As Africa’s economic ties with other nations — principally China — have grown, the importance of its business with the United States has shriveled.
—Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024
On the lower end of skills and pay, apparel employment shriveled as Southern California garment makers focused on fashion and small quantities, eliminating tens of thousands of manual labor jobs.
—Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
This fact is particularly true if the item in question is shriveled, moldy, or smelly.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 8 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shrivel
Caroline Winterer / Made By History, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025
Catching Up With China As Africa’s economic ties with other nations — principally China — have grown, the importance of its business with the United States has shriveled.
—Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024
On the lower end of skills and pay, apparel employment shriveled as Southern California garment makers focused on fashion and small quantities, eliminating tens of thousands of manual labor jobs.
—Don Lee, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
This fact is particularly true if the item in question is shriveled, moldy, or smelly.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 8 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shrivel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrivel
Verb
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But virtually all those gains have evaporated amid investor worries about the protests, lagging sales in the U.S., Europe and China, and Musk spending time overseeing DOGE.—
Michael Liedtke,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2025
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But virtually all those gains have evaporated amid investor worries about the Tesla backlash, lagging sales in the U.S., Europe and China, and Musk spending time overseeing DOGE.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Chirping at opposing fans after draining 3-pointers?—
Jay King,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
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But with Young draining a 3-pointer with 2:45 to play, the Hawks drew within 114-109.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Popcorn button burned our tester bags, but the Dinner Plate button reheated a plate of pasta without drying it out.—
Meg St-Esprit,
Bon Appétit,
18 Mar. 2025
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An example involves the Aral Sea, which has shrunk dramatically since the 1960s due to a combination of water demand for cotton crops and climate change drying the region.—
Melissa McCracken,
The Conversation,
18 Mar. 2025
Verb
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English clubs’ player recruitment became multinational and even as academy intake numbers rose, gradually a traditional source of teenage talent — Ireland — withered.—
Michael Walker,
The Athletic,
20 Mar. 2025
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Paul traffics in attention; would wither and disappear without it.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Or is he poised for a season-ending, scorched Earth act of revenge?—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
21 Mar. 2025
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More news: Fire scorches 24K acres, blanketing region in smoke and disrupting traffic to Florida Keys Wildfire in South Florida Fire officials in Florida have been working to stop the blaze that has scorched thousands of acres between Miami and the Florida Keys.—
Taylor Ardrey,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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However, the deal collapsed when Trump accused Maduro of stalling the repatriation process, leading his administration to reinstate harsh sanctions, including revoking oil giant Chevron’s license to operate in Venezuela and imposing a 25% tariff on Venezuelan crude and gas exports.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2025
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Additional footage shows collapsed buildings and wreckage in the streets.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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And despite the intensity of the crowd, the pressure of the moment that would cause even a good college team to wilt, both teams took and made their open shots, especially threes, with conviction all night.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
17 Mar. 2025
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If any leaves look wilted or slimy, choose a different bag.—
Alyssa Sybertz,
Southern Living,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Federal Railway Safety Act But Cassity and other union leaders remain concerned that little requires railroads like Norfolk Southern to maintain these protocols once the headlines of East Palestine fade away.—
Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2025
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Third to Journalism in the recent San Felipe Stakes — the race that more or less made Journalism a candidate Derby horse and that saw Rodriguez fade to show — Rodriguez currently clings to step No. 30 on the Derby points ladder, with 21-plus points.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shrivel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrivel. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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