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Glite Dictionary
shrinking

shrinking

6 3.2
A decrease in size, amount, or value
  • noun
  • /ˈʃrɪŋkɪŋ/
: reducción
  • Years ago, she had marked off a space in her slowly shrinking office where children sat who had been sent there for misbehavior.
  • shrinking of the state

There's this one story about Kim Jong Il shrinking time.

Examples

  • And then an era of shrinking newsrooms and shrinking staff.

  • The shrinking of the housing market continued until 2009, with a decrease of 30% compared to 2006.

    Academic text (2016)

  • The question is, what will replace this large hole in our GDP left by the shrinking of our financial services industry?

    Academic text (2010)

  • Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Arabs have suffered from a shrinking of their private and collective spaces.

    Academic text (2006)

  • Contact with Europeans presented a new and sustained pressure that began the prolonged shrinking of the Cherokee territory.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The narrowing of interests and the shrinking of distances will further intensify the quickening of our politics.

    Academic text (2002)

  • The evolution from realistic to modernist fiction can be viewed as a shrinking and backgrounding of the actual core of the textual universe.

    Academic text (1995)

  • The shrinking of the ice caps is a major concern for climate scientists.

  • In recent years, the shrinking of the job market has led to increased competition among job seekers.

  • The shrinking of the budget forced the school to cut several programs and staff positions.

Synonyms

reduction
vsshrinking
421 3.2

A decrease in size, amount, degree, or price

is the ongoing process or result rather than a single action
lowering
vsshrinking
208 2.8

To make something less in amount, value, or level

is the passive change rather than an active causing
decrease
vsshrinking
82 2.2

A drop in amount or number

is the continuous change rather than a one-off amount
contraction
vsshrinking
26 4.4

A process of becoming smaller in size or amount

is the general process of becoming smaller rather than just compression
shrinkage
vsshrinking
13 5.1

A decrease in size, amount, or value

is the verb-focused idea of the same ongoing change
step-down
vsshrinking
8 4.6

A decrease in amount or level, for example moving to a lower job

is the broad process of becoming smaller, not mainly rank change
diminution
vsshrinking
5 7.9

A decrease in size, amount, or importance

is the neutral process term rather than a formal action
lessening
vsshrinking
4 3.8

A decrease in amount, size, or strength

is the broader noun covering both process and result
diminishment
vsshrinking
3 6.7

A decrease in size, strength or importance

focuses on the neutral change in size, amount, or value
decrement
vsshrinking
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A small reduction in an amount or number

is the process or result idea rather than a measured amount
cutdown
vsshrinking
1 4.0

A drop in the number or amount of something

is the neutral ongoing change concept rather than one event
tapering
vsshrinking
1 6.5

A slow reduction in size or amount done in stages

is the reduction concept without implying staged gradual change
dwindling
vsshrinking
1 5.2

A slow decrease in size, number, or strength

is the same reduction idea but not limited to gradual change
minification
vsshrinking
1 7.4

Making something smaller in size so it fits into a small space

is the general process term rather than a technical action
condensing
vsshrinking
1 4.9

Making something smaller or more compact by reducing its volume

focuses on size or amount change rather than density or compacting

Antonyms

expansion
301 3.3

An increase in size, amount, or range

Idioms

shrinking violet
  • Informal
4 8.1

A shy person who avoids standing out

How Small

shrinking
6 3.2
contraction
26 4.4
reduction
421 3.2

Surface Forms

shrinking singular
shrinkings plural

Morphology

shrinking = shrink (transparent) = shrink + ing

The noun is a standard -ing nominalization of the verb 'shrink' denoting the process or result of becoming smaller.

Etymology

Shrinking comes from the old English verb shrink, which meant 'to draw back' or 'become smaller', like a sweater that pulls in after washing. So, shrinking today means the process of something getting smaller in size, amount, or value.