shrivelled

adj

"shrivelled" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shrivelled” is uncommon English (frequency #86,751 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#86,751
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Wrinkled because the volume has reduced while the surface area of the outer layer has remained constant.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shrivelled · shrivelled · English

shrivelled · rank #86,751 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #86,751
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sibi

Nearest frequency peer: Sibi (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “shrivelled”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “shrivelled” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026
Key facts for shrivelled
PropertyValue
Headwordshrivelled
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters10
Frequency rank#86,751
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shrivelled” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). shrivelled lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

shrivelled is uncommon English at frequency #86,751 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for shrivelled in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Equivalent to shrivel + -ed. The correct English form is shrivelled, spelled S-H-R-I-V-E-L-L-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Wrinkled because the volume has reduced while the surface area of the outer layer has remained constant.
  2. 2
    Collapsed in size.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shrivelled appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. A prune is a shrivelled plum.
  2. All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut.

Etymology

Equivalent to shrivel + -ed.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shrivelled"?
"shrivelled" is spelled S-H-R-I-V-E-L-L-E-D.
What does "shrivelled" mean?
As an adjective, "shrivelled" means: Wrinkled because the volume has reduced while the surface area of the outer layer has remained constant.
What is the origin of the word "shrivelled"?
Equivalent to shrivel + -ed. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shrivelled", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list