shrink

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

• intransitive v. To become constricted from heat, moisture, or cold.
• intransitive v. To become reduced in amount or value; dwindle: His savings quickly shrank.
• intransitive v. To draw back instinctively, as from something alarming; recoil.
• intransitive v. To show reluctance; hesitate: shrink from making such a sacrifice.
• transitive v. To cause to shrink.
• n. The act of shrinking.
• n. The degree to which something shrinks; shrinkage.
• n. Slang A psychotherapist.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

• v. To contract, to (cause to) become smaller.
• v. To cower or flinch.
• v. To attempt to avoid an unwanted or intimidating duty; as, to shrink from a task.
• n. shrinkage; contraction; recoil
• n. A psychiatrist or therapist; a head-shrinker.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

• n. The act shrinking; shrinkage; contraction; also, recoil; withdrawal.
• n. a psychiatrist.
• intransitive v. To wrinkle, bend, or curl; to shrivel; hence, to contract into a less extent or compass; to gather together; to become compacted.
• intransitive v. To withdraw or retire, as from danger; to decline action from fear; to recoil, as in fear, horror, or distress.
• intransitive v. To express fear, horror, or pain by contracting the body, or part of it; to shudder; to quake.
• transitive v. To cause to contract or shrink.
• transitive v. To draw back; to withdraw.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• To contract spontaneously; draw or be drawn into less length, breadth, or compass by an inherent property: as, woolen cloth shrinks in hot water; a flaxen or hempen line shrinks in a humid atmosphere.
• To diminish; reduce.
• To shrivel: become wrinkled by contraction, as the skin.
• To draw back or retire, as from danger; recoil physically, as in fear, horror, or distrust; sometimes, simply, to go aside.
• To decline or hesitate to act, as from fear; recoil morally or mentally, as in fear, horror, distrust, distaste, and the like.
• To express fear, horror, or pain by shrugging or contracting the body; wince; flinch.
• Synonyms See shrivel.
• 4–6. To flinch, blench.
• To cause to contract: as, to shrink flannel by immersing it in boiling water.
• To make smaller; make appear smaller.
• To withdraw: formerly with in.
• The act of shrinking; a spontaneous drawing into less compass.
• A contraction.
• A shrug.
• A diminution; a falling away; shrinkage.
• A withdrawing from fear or horror; recoil.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• v. draw back, as with fear or pain
• v. become smaller or draw together
• v. reduce in size; reduce physically
• v. decrease in size, range, or extent
• n. a physician who specializes in psychiatry
• v. wither, as with a loss of moisture