# shrunken

/ˈʃɹəŋkən/ (US) · /ʃɹˈʌŋkən/ (UK) · CEFR B2 · Adjective

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/shrunken
Updated: 2026-10-18

## Definition

smaller than before, often after washing, heating, or drying out. You use it for clothes, fruit, or skin that has lost size.

For teachers: reduced in size from an earlier or original state, typically through washing, heat, ageing, or loss of moisture.

## Examples

- My sweater looks shrunken after the hot wash.
- She holds up the shrunken jeans that no longer fit after a hot dryer cycle.
- The museum displayed shrunken apples from the drought year, their wrinkled skins telling a quiet story of heat and lost harvests.

## Usage notes

- Often used before a noun ('shrunken sweater') or after linking verbs like 'look' or 'feel'.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.