When nobody responded, he answered his own question, saying, "It's like those stories where people suddenly shrink and get very small.

Worthy people shrink or withdraw from public life, for fear of losing their privacy.

It seems most people shrink from the neighborhood, the whole city really.

There were shouts and screams as people shrank back from him.

Medias role is crucial - they can obviously make people shrink.

He stood up, and the people standing near shrank back.

Some people shrink when all eyes are upon them.

He manages to jam his arm between the closing doors, but the people in reach shrink away.

"And people like him don't shrink from danger, do they?"

You don't want to start by bellowing so loudly that people shrink in alarm.