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shrink away. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
shrink away, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
shrink away in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
shrink away you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
shrink + away
Verb
shrink away (third-person singular simple present shrinks away, present participle shrinking away, simple past shrank away or shrunk away, past participle shrunk away or shrunken away)
- To draw back in fear; cringe, back down, shy away.
1912, Stratemeyer Syndicate, chapter 1, in Baseball Joe on the School Nine:But Tommy was bashful, and the attention he had thus drawn upon himself made him blush. He was a timid lad and he shrank away now, evidently fearing Shell.
1923, Lucy Maud Montgomery, “Chapter 8”, in Emily of New Moon:Emily could be fearless enough on occasion; but in the presence of a nature which she instinctively felt to be hostile to hers she shrank away in something that was more repulsion than fear.