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Glite Dictionary
to shrivel up

to shrivel up

11 3.5
Become small, dry, and wrinkled because it loses water
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈʃrɪvəl ʌp/
translation icon : marchitarse
  • The oceans will roil and the crops will shrivel up.
  • shriveled up and died
  • shriveled up and went away

through it. Or, in the words of Brother David, shrivelled. Shrivelled up to an even harder, lifeless thing.

Examples

  • If you forget to water your plants, they will eventually shrivel up and dry out.

  • First he swelled up, then he shriveled up, then he disappeared.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • And after about a year, they shrivel up like plants and die.

    Electric Slide (2014)

  • Just remember, water it six times per day, or else it will shrivel up and die.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • We better go eat our shrimp before they shrivel up on us.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • But as soon as the flower starts to to shrivel up, that's when we pick them.

  • I mean, laying around all day long, you're going to shrivel up to nothing.

    Backfire (2017)

  • After that discoloration, the skin of your fingertips shrivels up.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Our potatoes don't look very nice, kind of overcooked and shriveled up, but does the job.

  • The old priest suddenly seemed to shrivel up into the posture of a cripple.

    Fiction book (1990)

Synonyms

to shrink
vsto shrivel up
95 1.8

Become smaller after washing or heating

stresses wrinkling and withering caused specifically by moisture loss
to wither
vsto shrivel up
91 4.4

To become dry and weak, as with plants or feelings

focuses more on physical wrinkling from moisture loss
to shrivel
vsto shrivel up
54 4.4

To become smaller, dry, and wrinkled because it loses water

is more about becoming shrunken or withered as well
to dry up
vsto shrivel up
19 2.7

To lose all water or moisture so it has none left

emphasizes the wrinkling and shrunken appearance after moisture loss

Antonyms

to expand
805 2.5

To grow larger in size, amount, or importance

to plump up
1 4.5

To make a pillow or cushion fuller by fluffing it

Surface Forms

shrivel up infinitive
shriveled up past
shriveled up past participle
shriveling up present participle
shrivels up third person singular

Morphology

shrivel + up

The meaning is directly predictable from 'shrivel' (to dry out, become wrinkled/shrunken) with the particle 'up' adding a sense of completion or intensification; a learner who knows both constituents can infer the full meaning. This is a regular verb + particle pattern in English (and has parallels in other languages), so the expression is compositionally transparent to B1 learners.

Etymology

Shrivel up paints a simple picture: something full of water shrivels (shrinks and gets wrinkled) as it dries, and the word up suggests it becomes smaller and tighter. So, shrivel up means 'to become wrinkled, shrunken, or dried out'.