Wrinkle

How to spell wrinkle

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce wrinkle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does wrinkle mean?

1. nounA small ridge or crease in skin, fabric, or another surface.
2. verbTo form or cause small ridges, creases, or folds in something.

Wrinkle in a sentence

• noun

  A deep wrinkle had formed across the front of his shirt.

• verb

  Linen trousers tend to wrinkle within minutes of sitting down.

• noun

  The cream promises to soften every fine wrinkle around the eyes.

• verb

  The strong smell made her wrinkle her nose in disgust.

Where does wrinkle come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Wrinkle comes from the older English layer of the language, ultimately tied to the Old English verb gewrinclian, meaning to wind, curl, or twist into folds. That verb shares its family with wring, meaning to twist or squeeze, which is why a wrinkle is essentially a small twist or crease pressed into a surface. The modern noun appears in late Middle English to describe a small ridge or furrow in skin or cloth, and the verb followed naturally for the act of creasing. The silent initial w, written but never sounded, is the great spelling trap here, and it is the same fossil w that survives in wring, write, and wrong, all once pronounced before the w fell silent in speech. Because the w is mute and the ending sounds like 'kle', writers sometimes fumble both ends of the word even though the middle is straightforward.

How the word is built

• wrink- (related to Old English wringan, to wring or twist)
• -le (frequentative/diminutive suffix)