Wrinkled, crushed, or squeezed into an irregular shape; past tense of crumple.
From Middle English 'crumple,' possibly related to 'crimp' or imitative of the crunching sound. First recorded in the 1500s with the meaning of wrinkling or folding.
Crumpled paper can be restored to smooth by flattening under a heavy weight or with steam—this inspired some scientists to study how origami patterns in nature (like dragonfly wings) protect from damage!
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