rumple

[ ruhm-puhl ]

verb (used with object)

, rum·pled, rum·pling.

1. to crumple or crush into wrinkles:

   to rumple a sheet of paper.

   Synonyms: muss, crease, wrinkle

2. to ruffle; tousle (sometimes followed by up ):

   The wind rumpled her hair.

verb (used without object)

, rum·pled, rum·pling.

1. to become wrinkled or crumpled:

   Tissue rumples easily.

noun

1. a wrinkle or irregular fold; crease.

rumple

/ ˈrʌmpəl /

verb

1. to make or become wrinkled, crumpled, ruffled, or dishevelled

noun

1. a wrinkle, fold, or crease

Derived Forms

• ˈrumply, adjective

Other Words From

• un·rumpled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of rumple¹

1595–1605; < Dutch rompelen (v.), rompel (noun)

Word History and Origins

Origin of rumple¹

C17: from Middle Dutch rompelen ; related to Old English gerumpen creased, wrinkled

Example Sentences

A few hundred stragglers moved their home to the nearby MacDonald Ice rumples and kept the group going.

From BBC

An aggressively flatulent vision of undarned socks, rumpled shirts and unspeakably greasy trench coat, Lamb is invariably surrounded by whiskey bottles and the moldering remnants of Chinese takeout.

From Los Angeles Times

What he’d thought were stones was actually a rumpled gray shirt, its buttons larger than Jack’s head.

From Literature

She sat across the table from her public defender, a massive man in a rumpled suit named Randall Stubbs.

From Literature

The Countess looked far down her perfect nose upon the rumpled bed.

From Literature

Related Words

• derange
• dishevel