as in afraid
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1
as in revulsion
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2
as in diminishing
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1
as in compressing
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 recoiling
to draw back in fear, pain, or disgust
shrinking back from the approaching flames
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3
as in decreasing
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shrinking
Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2026
Jeff St. John, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
Federal support for expanding early education funding is sparse and shrinking.
—Moriah Balingit, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
Federal support for expanding early education funding is sparse and shrinking.
—Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Internal gas molecules radiate heat away, enabling further shrinking.
—Big Think, 20 Apr. 2026
That included shrinking who could query the 702 database and requiring sign-off from a superior before reviewing any information collected on Americans.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 15 Apr. 2026
Anything worse than another Rory round in the 60s would have resulted in his lead shrinking, and a wobbly Saturday was certain to shrink the gap further.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2026
Use cold water to wash sheets made from delicate fabrics like silk or linen to prevent shrinking or damage.
—Nashia Baker, Martha Stewart, 8 Apr. 2026
The shrinking world As birth rates fall, the shrinking of a nation’s population is often worrisome for political elites, who tend to see a large population as a source of power.
—John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2026
Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026
Software headcount is shrinking.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Even more than disability accommodations, the school district’s fundamental issue is that overall enrollment is shrinking.
—Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
Like the population of American readers, page counts in contemporary literature have been shrinking.
—Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The city faces a budget shortfall, and the school district’s shrinking enrollment could lead to school closures.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2026
In shrinking the design, the building went from 40,000 square feet to 32,000.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
When that happened, Gala started rebalancing the in-game economy and shrinking TOWN distributions, reducing profits for existing players and hastening an economic death spiral.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Apr. 2026
Now more than ever, because our world is shrinking.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Re-wash and dry the garment, using these tips to avoid re-shrinking, to prevent a residue from the conditioner from setting.
—Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2026
Noun
With irrigation shrinking and solar replacing crops, longtime farmworker Rosa Ramirez worries about disappearing jobs.
—Jeff St. John, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026
Federal support for expanding early education funding is sparse and shrinking.
—Moriah Balingit, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
Federal support for expanding early education funding is sparse and shrinking.
—Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Internal gas molecules radiate heat away, enabling further shrinking.
—Big Think, 20 Apr. 2026
That included shrinking who could query the 702 database and requiring sign-off from a superior before reviewing any information collected on Americans.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 15 Apr. 2026
Anything worse than another Rory round in the 60s would have resulted in his lead shrinking, and a wobbly Saturday was certain to shrink the gap further.
—Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2026
Use cold water to wash sheets made from delicate fabrics like silk or linen to prevent shrinking or damage.
—Nashia Baker, Martha Stewart, 8 Apr. 2026
The shrinking world As birth rates fall, the shrinking of a nation’s population is often worrisome for political elites, who tend to see a large population as a source of power.
—John Rennie Short, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
Hospitals also have struggled for decades with Medicaid rates that cover an ever-shrinking share of the cost of treating poor patients.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026
Software headcount is shrinking.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Apr. 2026
Even more than disability accommodations, the school district’s fundamental issue is that overall enrollment is shrinking.
—Marc Novicoff, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
Like the population of American readers, page counts in contemporary literature have been shrinking.
—Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2026
The city faces a budget shortfall, and the school district’s shrinking enrollment could lead to school closures.
—Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 28 Apr. 2026
In shrinking the design, the building went from 40,000 square feet to 32,000.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
When that happened, Gala started rebalancing the in-game economy and shrinking TOWN distributions, reducing profits for existing players and hastening an economic death spiral.
—ArsTechnica, 27 Apr. 2026
Now more than ever, because our world is shrinking.
—Marta Balaga, Variety, 27 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrinking
Adjective
-
Umpires, afraid of being overturned, or at least, more aware of the new zone and its limitations, have been calling fewer strikes.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Almost half are personally afraid of losing their job to AI, ranking it among the most acute individual stressors measured in the survey.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
But now many of those same factions are expressing open revulsion at the Iran war, rupturing relationships that were supposed to usher in a new international order.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Dahl’s revulsion at the violence committed in Israel’s name is at once comprehensible, in and of itself, and rooted in Dahl’s set of antisemitic beliefs.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Arsenal had lost the game, and yet another chunk of their diminishing lead in the table.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Consolidation of power This diminishing of the role of the presidency and political legitimacy forms the background to any questions of succession now.—
Roxane Razavi,
The Conversation,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His music is, in the best sense, grown-up, proof that a gifted songwriter can tackle the headiest, heaviest topics, compressing a novel’s worth of ideas, intelligence, irony, urbanity, humor and ambivalence into four minutes.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
De Pablo notes that AI is compressing timelines dramatically.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Coinbase’s effort, filled with little nuances and created to emulate the experience of a videogame, might have people welcoming another look rather than recoiling at seeing the spot for the 15th time in a period of just a few days.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Then, as things dragged on, Goldberg could be seen recoiling and wincing in her chair — and, at one point, fully collapsing backward in protest.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
These changes were to be achieved by increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables, decreasing the consumption of meat and eggs, and substituting nonfat milk for whole milk.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
-
In addition, federal funding is decreasing.—
Kristina Rex,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And also the anticipatory obedience by a lot of these news organizations who are more timid.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The film follows Colin (Harry Melling), a timid man who is swept off of his feet by Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), an impossibly handsome biker, who takes him on as his submissive.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And yet my instinct to recoil at this all collides with a harder reality.—
Catherine Thorbecke,
Twin Cities,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Let evil recoil on those who slander Kendra; in your faithfulness destroy them.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shrinking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrinking. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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