Shrivel

Shrivel

Shrivelling is a natural phenomenon where an object, with an attached sub-elastic covering, has its interior volume reduced in some way. The covering, which cannot contract any further, is then obliged to wrinkle and buckle, in order to preserve surface area while containing the lesser volume.

For example, in raisin production manufacturers shrivel grapes by drying (desiccating) them.

Expand-section|date=June 2008


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • shrivel — UK [ˈʃrɪv(ə)l] / US or shrivel up UK / US verb Word forms shrivel : present tense I/you/we/they shrivel he/she/it shrivels present participle shrivelling past tense shrivelled past participle shrivelled 1) a) [intransitive] if something such as a …   English dictionary

  • shrivel up — shrivel UK [ˈʃrɪv(ə)l] / US or shrivel up UK / US verb Word forms shrivel : present tense I/you/we/they shrivel he/she/it shrivels present participle shrivelling past tense shrivelled past participle shrivelled 1) a) [intransitive] if something… …   English dictionary

  • Shrivel — Shriv el, v. t. To cause to shrivel or contract; to cause to shrink onto corruptions. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shrivel — 1560s (implied in shriveled), of unknown origin, perhaps from a Scandinavian source (Cf. Swed. skryvla to wrinkle, to shrivel ) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Shrivel — Shriv el, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Shriveled}or {Shrivelled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Shriveling} or {Shrivelling}.] [Probably akin to shrimp, shrink; cf. dial. AS. screpa to pine away, Norw. skrypa to waste, skryp, skryv, transitory, frail, Sw. skr[… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shrivel — index decay, degenerate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • shrivel — *wither, wizen Analogous words: parch, desiccate, *dry: sear, scorch, *burn …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • shrivel — has inflected forms shrivelled, shrivelling, and in AmE usually shriveled, shriveling …   Modern English usage

  • shrivel — [v] dehydrate, dry up burn, contract, desiccate, dwindle, fossilize, mummify, mummy, parch, scorch, sear, shrink, stale, welter, wilt, wither, wizen, wrinkle; concepts 137,250,255 Ant. enlarge, expand, grow, unwrinkle …   New thesaurus

  • shrivel — ► VERB (shrivelled, shrivelling; US shriveled, shriveling) ▪ wrinkle and contract through loss of moisture. ORIGIN perhaps Scandinavian …   English terms dictionary

  • shrivel — [shriv′əl] vt., vi. shriveled or shrivelled, shriveling or shrivelling [Early ModE, prob. < Scand, as in Swed dial. skryvla, to wrinkle] 1. to shrink and make or become wrinkled or withered 2. to make or become helpless, useless, or… …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”