different between dwindle vs shrinkage

English

Etymology

Frequentative form of dwine, from Middle English dwinen, from Old English dw?nan (“to waste away”), equivalent to dwine +? -le, akin to Old Norse dvena/dvína (Danish tvine (“to pine away”), Dutch verdwijnen (“to disappear, dwindle”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?dw?n.d?l/
• Rhymes: -?nd?l

Verb

dwindle (third-person singular simple present dwindles, present participle dwindling, simple past and past participle dwindled)

1. (intransitive) To decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or intensity.
   • 1802, T. Paynell (translator), Erasmus, The Complaint of Peace

     [E]very thing that was improving gradually degenerates and dwindles away to nothing, […]

2. (intransitive, figuratively) To fall away in quality; degenerate, sink.
   • 1766, Oliver Goldsmith, Vicar, III

     The flattery of his friends began to dwindle into simple approbation.

   • 1919, Boris Sidis, The Source and Aim of Human Progress

     The larger the empire, the more dwindles the mind of the citizen.
3. (transitive) To lessen; to bring low.

   • Our drooping days are dwindled down to nought.

4. To break up or disperse.

Derived terms

Translations

References

Anagrams

• windled

English

Etymology

shrink +? -age

Pronunciation

Noun

shrinkage (countable and uncountable, plural shrinkages)

1. The act of shrinking, or the proportion by which something shrinks.
2. The loss of merchandise through theft, spoilage, and obsolescence.
3. (slang) The reduction in size of the male genitalia when cold, such as from immersion in cold water.
   • 1994 Peter Mehlman & Carol Leifer, "The Hamptons," Seinfeld, Season 5, Episode 20 (aired May 12, 1994), Spoken by Jerry Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld)

     Do women know about shrinkage?

   • 2006 Steve Gerali, Teenage Guys: Exploring Issues Adolescent Guys Face and Strategies to Help Them, Zondervan, p63

     This is why guys experience "shrinkage" after they've been swimming.

   • 2008 Anthony William Brownless, Billy's Book for Blokes, Allen & Unwin

     That'll get their blood flowing. ... getting the blood flowing coz just the mere thought of jumping into that icy water was starting to get the shrinkage going.

   • 2010 Fran Capo, Art Zuckerman & Susan Zuckerman, "Polar Bear Clubs," It Happened in New York City: Remarkable Events That Shaped History, Globe Pequot, p51

     And of course, one of the most important questions of all, especially among male plungers, is, "What about shrinkage?!"

Anagrams

• kashering, reshaking