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Glite Dictionary
🐚 A small shellfish 🌀 To wrinkle
to cockle

to cockle

9.5
To make a surface form small waves or ripples
  • verb
  • /ˈkɑːkəl/
translation icon : arrugar
  • The fabric was exposed to moisture, causing it to cockle and lose its smooth appearance.

Examples

  • The artist decided to cockle the canvas before applying the paint to create a textured effect.

  • When the wind blew across the pond, the surface water began to cockle with small ripples.

  • Than are the tender horns of cockled snails.

    Love's Labour's Lost (2000)

Synonyms

to wrinkle
vsto cockle
56 2.1

To make a small fold in cloth, paper, or skin

covers both creasing and wavy patterns on surfaces, not only folded lines
to ripple
vsto cockle
49 2.7

To move in small waves on water when wind blows

also applies to making materials show waves or creases, not only water motion
to crumple
vsto cockle
29 3.4

Get folded and wrinkled when pressed, like paper or cloth

is about making a surface wavy or wrinkled without the sense of crushing or damage
to pucker
vsto cockle
25 5.2

To make small wrinkles in skin or cloth

is the more general term for forming waves or wrinkles, not only gathered folds
to crinkle
vsto cockle
12 3.7

Form small lines on paper, skin, or cloth

is broader, applying to larger wavy or wrinkled forms rather than just tiny lines
to undulate
vsto cockle
10 7.7

To move in smooth waves like tall grass in the wind

focuses on producing visible waves or wrinkles on a surface rather than continuous motion
to ruffle
vsto cockle
7 4.2

Disturb a smooth surface so small waves appear

is about larger or definite wavy or wrinkled patterns rather than small surface disturbance
to rumple
vsto cockle
6 5.4

To make clothes or hair wrinkled and messy

is more neutral, describing neat wavy or wrinkled patterns rather than messy creasing
to knit
vsto cockle
3 4.2

To bring the eyebrows together to make small lines on the forehead

is more general, meaning any wavy or wrinkled surface, not only contraction
to riffle
vsto cockle
1 7.6

To make small ripples on water by moving it slightly

applies more broadly to forming waves or creases in materials, not only stirring water
to ruffle up
vsto cockle
1 4.2

To make a smooth surface uneven or wrinkled

is a more general term for forming clear waves or creasing, not just light disturbance
to ruckle
vsto cockle
9.9

To make small folds in cloth by pressing or gathering it

is broader, including smooth waving as well as simple folding

Antonyms

to flatten
23 2.6

Make something flat and smooth by pressing it

Compounds

cockle-burr
  • US
9.7

A prickly plant with small spiny balls that stick to clothes or animal fur

cockle-bur
  • US
9.9

A coarse weed with spiny seeds that stick to animals or clothing

corn cockle
  • UK
9.9

A plant with bright purple, trumpet-shaped flowers and poisonous seeds that grows in grain fields and roadsides

cow cockle
  • UK
9.9

A small European annual plant with pale pink flowers that often grows as a weed in grain fields

edible cockle
  • UK
3.6

A small shellfish like a clam that people eat

white cockle
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with sticky stems and groups of white flowers that open in the evening

How Wrinkled

to crumple
29 3.4
to wrinkle
56 2.1
to cockle
9.5
to crinkle
12 3.7
to crease
18 2.3

Surface Forms

cockle infinitive
cockling present participle
cockled past
cockled past participle

Etymology

Cockle (verb) comes from the name of the small shell cockle, which came from an old French word coquille meaning 'shell'. Because those shells have many small ribs, to cockle something is to make its surface 'wavy' or 'wrinkled' like a shell.