shrivelshriv‧el /ˈʃrɪvəl/ (also shrivel up) verb (past tense and past participle shrivelled, present participle shrivelling British English, shriveled, shriveling American English) [intransitive, transitive] 
Word Origin Examples
The leaves change colour, then shrivel.—shrivelled British English,—shriveled American English adjective: a shrivelled apple
Word OriginWORD ORIGINshrivel
Verb TableOrigin:
1500-1600 Perhaps from a Scandinavian languageVERB TABLE
shrivel
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | shrivel |
| he, she, it | shrivels | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | shrivelled (BrE), shriveled (AmE) |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have shrivelled (BrE), shriveled (AmE) |
| he, she, it | has shrivelled (BrE), shriveled (AmE) | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had shrivelled (BrE), shriveled (AmE) |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will shrivel |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have shrivelled (BrE), shriveled (AmE) |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) |
| he, she, it | is shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) | |
| you, we, they | are shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) |
| you, we, they | were shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) |
| he, she, it | has been shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been shrivelling (BrE), shriveling (AmE) |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Profits have shriveled since the start of the economic crisis.
- Why do Kate's onions grow so well, while mine shrivel and rot in the ground?
- But eventually, even red dwarfs will shrivel up and die.
- How it had shrivelled her to the point of annihilation.
- In a rough economy, they said, budgets shrivel and advertisers get stern and cautious.
- The ghost of Ken Noakes shrivelled and vanished from her subconscious.
- The poor things shrivel up in protest.
- The steel companies seem to want to shrivel, to disappear.
- These microscopic biting flies would dry and shrivel in minutes out in the sun.
- Yet if they wait while a complex corporate empire is unwound, the value of their loans can shrivel almost to nothing.
Longman Language Activatorto become dry► dry
Collocations to become dry: · This should only take a few minutes to dry.· Wet clothes dry quickly on a sunny day.· Leave the dishes on the draining board to dry.hang something out to dry (=hang clothes outside, so that they are dried by the sun or wind): · I like to hang the sheets out to dry. It gives them a fresh smell.
► dry out to become completely dry - use this about something that dries naturally in the air, sun etc: · Hang your towel over the chair to dry it out.· Cover the pastry with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out.· Farmers will have to wait for fields to dry out before they can harvest their soybeans.
► dry up if a river or lake etc dries up , it becomes completely dry because there has not been any rain: · Last summer the river dried up and you could walk right across it.· The town's reservoir has nearly dried up and many homes are without water.· Lake Elizabeth will not dry up, but its water level could drop.
► shrivel up if a plant or a fruit shrivels up it becomes smaller and deep lines form on its surface, because it has become very dry: · There was so little rain that most of the crops shrivelled up and died.
to become smaller in size► get smaller · The dot got smaller and smaller and vanished from the screen.· Am I getting fatter or are these jeans getting smaller?
► shrink if something shrinks , especially clothes, it becomes smaller because of the effect of water or heat: · Don't wash that sweater in the machine - it'll shrink.· Oh no! My skirt has shrunk!
► shrivel/shrivel up if something such as a plant or a fruit shrivels or shrivels up , it becomes smaller as water is removed from it, for example as a result of heat: · Eventually the grapes will shrivel and become raisins,· The crops were beginning to shrivel up in the heat.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► up
if something shrivels, or if it is shrivelled, it becomes smaller and its surface becomes covered in lines because it is very dry or old: · She shrivelled up, fell forwards, like a paper doll.· Otherwise they shrivel up and die almost instantly.· The poor things shrivel up in protest.· But eventually, even red dwarfs will shrivel up and die.· The whole house smelled of it, of lost youth shrivelled up into a kind of dust.· When the third woman enters the scene, she almost shrivels up.· The few unpicked apples that bobbed and swayed on the bare top branches were all shrivelled up.· Probably shrivel up like a cactus in a microwave.
The leaves change colour, then shrivel.—shrivelled British English,—shriveled American English adjective: a shrivelled apple