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shrink

verb [I usually + adv/prep] (BE FRIGHTENED)
 
 
/ʃrɪŋk/ (shrank, shrunk) literary

Definition

to move away from someone or something because you are frightened: The child shrank behind the sofa as his father shouted at him. When she was younger she would shrink (away) from me whenever I spoke to her.Making short, sudden movements
(Definition of shrink verb (BE FRIGHTENED) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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