wrinkle

¹

[ring-kuhl]

noun

1. a small furrow or crease in the skin, especially of the face, as from aging or frowning.

2. a temporary slight ridge or furrow on a surface, due to contraction, folding, crushing, or the like.

verb (used with object)

wrinkled, wrinkling 

1. to form wrinkles in; corrugate; crease.

   Don't wrinkle your dress.

verb (used without object)

wrinkled, wrinkling 

1. to become wrinkled.

wrinkle

²

[ring-kuhl]

noun

Informal.

1. an ingenious trick or device; a clever innovation.

   a new advertising wrinkle.

wrinkle

¹

/ ˈrɪŋkəl /

noun

1. a slight ridge in the smoothness of a surface, such as a crease in the skin as a result of age

verb

1. to make or become wrinkled, as by crumpling, creasing, or puckering

wrinkle

²

/ ˈrɪŋkəl /

noun

1. informal,  a clever or useful trick, hint, or dodge

Other Word Forms

• wrinkly adjective
• wrinkleless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wrinkle¹

1375–1425; late Middle English (noun), back formation from wrinkled, Old English gewrinclod, past participle of gewrinclian to wind round; perhaps akin to wrick, wrench

Origin of wrinkle²

1375–1425; late Middle English, equivalent to wrinc trick ( Old English wrenc; wrench ) + -le

Word History and Origins

Origin of wrinkle¹

C15: back formation from wrinkled, from Old English gewrinclod, past participle of wrinclian to wind around; related to Swedish vrinka to sprain, Lithuanian reñgti to twist. See _wrench

Origin of wrinkle²

Old English wrenc trick; related to Middle Low German wrank struggle, Middle High German ranc sudden turn. See _wrench

Example Sentences

As ever, there is always scope for unforeseen wrinkles or unrelated stuff that pushes things back a bit.

From BBC

Botox users in their 20s and early 30s hope to prevent lines forming in the first place, or to target a crease before it becomes a wrinkle.

From BBC

As MLB announces its postseason schedule for this season, one wrinkle from last season has been nixed: a flexible start date for the World Series.

From Los Angeles Times

Half of Tess’ lines are just variations on vain Lily’s fear of wrinkles, dentures and suit jackets stuffed with used tissues.

From Los Angeles Times

As companies look to keep costs down and consumers watch their budgets, tariffs add another wrinkle to efforts to slash spending.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• crease 
• crumple 
• pucker 
• rumple 
• screw up 
• scrunch