To wrinkle and contract, drying out and becoming smaller; often used figuratively to describe failure or disappearance.
To become small, dry, and wrinkled, like a raisin or a dead leaf.
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To become wrinkled and shrunken through dehydration or heat.
"The tomatoes in the garden shrivelled up after weeks without rain."
The flowers were already beginning to shrivel up in the heat.
— George Orwell, 'Burmese Days' (1934) — paraphrased
To feel so embarrassed or humiliated that one wants to disappear.
"When she pronounced his name wrong in front of everyone, he just wanted to shrivel up and die."
To gradually decrease or become insignificant.
"Investment in the sector has shrivelled up since the new regulations came into force."
To shrivel (wrinkle and contract) completely — fairly transparent with the intensifying 'up'.
To become small, dry, and wrinkled, like a raisin or a dead leaf.
Vivid and expressive. Used for plants, food, skin, and body parts drying out and contracting. Figuratively used for things losing importance, hope, or vitality. 'Up' here intensifies the completeness of the process. Common in both spoken and written English.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Listen to native speakers using "shrivel up" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
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