Wrinkle
/ˈrɪŋkəl/
nounverbB1
Definition
A wrinkle is a small, thin line or fold that appears on skin, clothes, or other surfaces when they bend or age. When you wrinkle something (verb), you make these lines or folds by pressing or folding it. Wrinkles often show when skin gets older or when fabric is not smooth.
Was this helpful?
See It in Action
Small fold or line on skin or fabric
- •She noticed wrinkles around her eyes when she smiled.
- •The shirt had wrinkles after being left in the suitcase.
- •Wrinkles on the paper made it hard to write smoothly.
To cause small folds or lines by folding or pressing
- •He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
- •The fabric wrinkled after washing.
- •Don’t wrinkle your clothes before packing them.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of 'wrinkle' like 'line,' but a line that is not straight and smooth—it is a small fold or bend
- ✓Picture a piece of paper that you gently crumple, making small lines and folds on its surface
- ✓It's the feeling you get when you see an old photo or your hands after washing and drying many times
- ✓Sounds like 'RINK-ul' → imagine a small ring (circle) that bends and folds like a wrinkle on fabric
- ✓Think of a grandmother’s face with many wrinkles showing her age and life stories
- ✓NOT like 'smooth' (flat and even), wrinkles are small uneven folds that break smoothness
- ✓NOT like 'tear' (a hole or rip), wrinkles are just folds, not damage
- ✓As a verb, NOT like 'iron' (to remove folds), 'wrinkle' means to create or have folds
Try Other Words
- •Crease: a line made by folding or pressing (Use when the line is sharper and more defined)
- •Line: a long thin mark (Use when talking about lines on skin but less about folds)
- •Crumple: to crush something into folds (Use when the wrinkles are many and messy)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: root "wrinkle" (no prefix or suffix)
- •Etymology: From Old English "wrincle," meaning a small fold or crease
- •Historical development: Used since the Middle Ages to describe small folds in skin or cloth
- •Modern usage: Commonly used for skin aging and fabric condition; also used figuratively to mean small problems or details
Reflect & Connect
•How do wrinkles on skin tell a story about a person's life or emotions?
•Can wrinkles in fabric be a sign of carelessness, or can they also add character and style?
Fill in the blanks
1.Wrinkle often appears on skin when people ___ older or ___ a lot of sun.
2.When you leave clothes in a pile, they usually ___ and need ironing.
3.Unlike a tear, a wrinkle is a ___ or fold, not a hole or rip.
4.She wrinkled her forehead to show she was ___ or confused.
5.Wrinkle usually pairs with words like "deep," "fine," or "small" to describe its ___.
6.After washing, the shirt was full of wrinkles and needed to be ___.
7.You can infer from many wrinkles on fabric that it was ___ or not folded carefully.