Meanings
present singular third person crinkles · participle present crinkling · participle past crinkled · past crinkled
- ambitransitiveTo fold, crease, crumple, or wad.
He crinkled the wrapper and threw it out.
1 more example
The old man's lined face crinkled into a smile.
- intransitiveTo rustle, as stiff cloth when moved.
The green wheat crinkles like a lake.
1908, John Townsend Trowbridge, Vagabonds and other poems1 more example
All the rooms were full of crinkling silks.
1856, Elizabeth Browning, Aurora Leigh
plural crinkles
- A wrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness.
He observed the crinkles forming around his eyes and suddenly felt old.
- The act of crinkling.
- bakingChocolate crinkle; a type of cookie made of primarily cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and water
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna slight depression or fold in the smoothness of a surface
verbmake wrinkles or creases on a smooth surface; make a pressed, folded or wrinkled line in; ‘crisp’ is archaic
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ger-“to turn, wind”
- Proto-Germanic*kringaną“to turn, to fall, to yield”
- Old Englishcrincan“to yield”
- Old English*crinclian
- Middle Englishcrenclen“to bend, buckle”
- Englishcrinkle
From Middle English crenclen (“to bend, buckle”), from Old English *crinclian, frequentative form of Old English crincan (“to yield”), from Proto-Germanic *kringaną (“to turn, to fall, to yield”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to turn, wind”). Cognate with North Frisian krenge, krönge (“to obtain, reach, attain”), Dutch krinkelen (“to turn, wind”). Related to cringe.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian набръчквам, нагъвам
- набръчквам (nabrăčkvam)to fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- нагъвам (nagăvam)to fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- шумоля (šumolja)to rustle
- бръчка (brăčka)wrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
- чупка (čupka)wrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
- гънка (gănka)wrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
- извивка (izvivka)wrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
Chinese Mandarin 皺 /皱
- 皺 /皱 (zhòu)to fold, crease, crumple, or wad
Esperanto ĉifi
- ĉifito fold, crease, crumple, or wad
Finnish rypistää, rypistyä
- rypistääto fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- rypistyäto fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- rypyttääto fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- krepatato fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- kahistato rustle
- ryppywrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
French froisser, froufrouter
- froisserto fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- froufrouterto rustle
German knittern, zerknittern
- knitternto fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- zerknitternto fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- sich verziehento fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- sich in Falten legento fold, crease, crumple, or wad
- rauschento rustle
- Faltewrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
- Fältchenwrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
Greek θροΐζω
- θροΐζω (throḯzo)to fold, crease, crumple, or wad
Persian گرنج
- گرنج (garenj)wrinkle, fold, crease, or unevenness
Portuguese dobrar
- dobrarto fold, crease, crumple, or wad
Russian смина́ть
- смина́ть (sminátʹ)to fold, crease, crumple, or wad
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with crinkle
Anagrams
Cite this entry
crinkle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crinkle
“crinkle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crinkle. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crinkle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crinkle.
Source: crinkle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.