SHRIVEL

[verb] -ll- or US usually -l- - to (cause to) become dry, smaller and covered with lines as if by crushing or foldingThe lack of rain has shrivelled the crops. [T]You ought to pick those lettuces before they shrivel (up) and die. [I]Those oranges were looking a bit old and shrivelled, so I threw them out.(figurative) Profits are shrivelling (= becoming smaller) as the recession bites deeper. [I]