| / English Dictionary |
SHRINKING
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of becoming less
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("shrinking" is a kind of...):
decrease; diminution; reduction; step-down (the act of decreasing or reducing something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shrinking"):
miniaturisation; miniaturization (act of making on a greatly reduced scale)
Derivation:
shrink (decrease in size, range, or extent)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Process or result of becoming less or smaller
Example:
the material lost 2 inches per yard in shrinkage
Synonyms:
shrinkage; shrinking
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("shrinking" is a kind of...):
decrease; drop-off; lessening (a change downward)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shrinking"):
compression; condensation; contraction (the process or result of becoming smaller or pressed together)
Derivation:
shrink (reduce in size; reduce physically)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
-ing form of the verb shrink
Context examples:
In females, additional signs include shrinking of the breasts and loss of, or failure to develop menstruation.
(Hypogonadism, NCI Thesaurus)
A disorder characterized by shrinking of adipose tissue.
(Adipose Tissue Atrophy, NCI Thesaurus/CTCAE)
Oldacre gave an uneasy laugh, shrinking back from the furious red face of the angry detective.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The most likely explanation for Mercury’s great valley is long-wavelength buckling of the planet’s outermost shell in response to global contraction or shrinking.
(‘Great Valley’ Found on Mercury, NASA)
Previously, similar laser techniques could only make two dimensional structures, and other methods for shrinking 3D objects were much slower and more difficult to perform in most labs.
(Researchers Use Laser to Shrink Objects to Nanoscale, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Shrinking, almost shivering, he still managed to hold himself together.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
“My opinion!” she cried, shrinking from such a compliment, highly as it gratified her.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
“But it is dark in here,” she said the next moment, her shoulders shrinking with a little involuntary shiver.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
Beginning in 2012, amateur observations revealed a noticeable increase in the rate at which the spot is shrinking — by 580 miles per year — changing its shape from an oval to a circle.
(Jupiter's great red spot is shrinking, NASA)
After the involuntary shrinking consequent on the first nauseous whiff, we one and all set about our work as though that loathsome place were a garden of roses.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
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