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In my mother tongue, there is a word for it, and it is a noun.

The action is observed when you think the paper is waste. You squeeze it, and it loses its texture/avatar. Then, it is no more straight or flat.

Here is the image. Check those papers. What have they become?

waste paper in a dustbin

Precisely...

I wanted to put everything in words. I tried it on a paper. I did not like it. I __________ it and threw it in a dustbin.

You find nothing in this dustbin except some __________ papers

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Maulik V
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    A possible alternative with wad: I wad the paper up; a wad of paper; wadded balls of paper – Damkerng T. Dec 01 '15 at 10:53
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    BTW, you are using the word avatar incorrectly. – TimR Dec 01 '15 at 14:10
  • TRomano it's in my mother tongue and also in sanskrit from where it's derived. So here, nativeness may not work. And I confirm this. :-) – Maulik V Dec 01 '15 at 17:10
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    @TRomano Yeah but now I want to start using the word "avatar" in strange ways. I'm sure when I do, people will get funny looks on their avatars. Maybe when I go to the dry cleaners I'll ask them if they can give my shirts back their avatar. It's just a cool word. – Todd Wilcox Dec 01 '15 at 22:05
  • exactly @ToddWilcox. So, this means 'avatar' has many other meanings those are not yet known to native speakers or at least are 'strange' to them. – Maulik V Dec 02 '15 at 04:44
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    I'm going to take a wild guess that 'avatar' is being confused with 'shape' since both can refer to the 'physical form' of something. The difference is that 'avatar' typically means the physical incarnation of a deity in hinduism, whereas a 'shape' is the physical form of a real world object. – Pharap Dec 02 '15 at 12:00
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    @DamkerngT. to "wad" is to pack tightly. – Ben Dec 02 '15 at 14:45
  • @Ben It's British English vs. American English, perhaps? – Damkerng T. Dec 02 '15 at 14:52
  • Bing image search for "Crumpled paper", "screwed-up paper", "wadded paper" and "scrunched up paper" all produce similar images. – Ben Dec 02 '15 at 15:06
  • Those are origami rocks. ;) – Ilmari Karonen Dec 02 '15 at 16:00
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    @MaulikV no. If you're speaking english, you're speaking english. "avatar" only has a few meanings in english. it doesn't mean whatever you're using it to mean, period. the entire point of language is to be understood. native speakers are the ones who know the language best. your job is to learn to speak like they do. – user428517 Dec 02 '15 at 22:59
  • @sgroves job! :) When linguists derive any word from any other language, they retain the meaning. It's irony that James Cameron used it first for its 'one' meaning and the natives have been following it ever since! Since native speakers seem to be interested in its meaning, let me tell you. The one that loses its original shape, traditional looks, size, or becomes entirely different is called 'avatar changed'. Now, it's your take -learn it or trash it. I won't call this 'job' for you at all! – Maulik V Dec 03 '15 at 04:53
  • @MaulikV Are you sure that that use of avatar (avatar changed) is in Sanskrit? Could it be that it's in some other language that borrowed or derived the word from Sanskrit? -- I'm not saying that I know Sanskrit, though. I'm just curious about it. – Damkerng T. Dec 03 '15 at 08:04
  • Avatar is basically an *incarnation* or say -a birth of Indian gods and goddesses on the earth for a particular mission/reason. But since Hindus do identify 'faces' of their gods, the almighty change their avatar i.e. size, shape, face (and even their form of their appearance i.e. human-like figure') etc. to remain unidentified. Thus, the word extends its meaning. And now, even in many local languages, this word is used when something is changed* from its original form. It's a long discussion short though! even @DamkerngT. can change avatar in that sense! cont... – Maulik V Dec 03 '15 at 09:15
  • cont... Here is the original use of 'avatar' wherein the Lord Vishnu took 10 different avatars for the purpose to restore cosmic order. Note that the god had taken an avatar of fish, tortoise, half man-half lion, dwarf...and many more. – Maulik V Dec 03 '15 at 09:22
  • So, is "avatar changed" for paper in Hindi or in Sanskrit or both? -- BTW, I know that sense of the word, 'cause the full name of the city I live in has the word "avatar" in it. – Damkerng T. Dec 03 '15 at 09:36
  • Stick to 'avatar'. Because to make others understand, I added 'changed'. Avatar is Sanskrit but its meaning 'to change from its primary appearance' is in Sanskrit, Guajrati, Marathi..and could be a few more languages. @DamkerngT. It was a metaphor - non-living things don't have avatar! that's the reason, I said loses its original shape, size, texture, form i.e. avatar – Maulik V Dec 03 '15 at 09:40
  • Interesting - Vamana (dwarf) avatar of Vishnu in which he completely changed his form and became a dwarf and then grew the size of the sky! – Maulik V Dec 03 '15 at 09:49
  • Interesting. This use of avatar to mean the dorm or the shape of anything in Sanskrit is new to me. The sense that I'm familiar with roughly means "to incarnate" or "to die" as in a supreme being leaving their current state in order to descend to our earth. I still doubt if it's really felicitous in Sanskrit. Perhaps I may post it as a question when we have a Sanskrit stack. (Too bad that its proposal didn't survive!) – Damkerng T. Dec 03 '15 at 09:49
  • Ah, a modern day example - we have 'gravatar' graphic avatar where you can *change* yourself into a cartoonish character! Hundreds of applications available to change your avatar! That is, appearance. @DamkerngT. Aw..this is getting long and probably we are digressing. We'll talk sometime on this. – Maulik V Dec 03 '15 at 09:51
  • The Vamana avatar is used in the more common sense of the word, I think, that is "an incarnated being", as a noun. – Damkerng T. Dec 03 '15 at 09:51
  • Got it! Sorry for talking about this too long. It's just that I'm interested in Sanskrit, too. – Damkerng T. Dec 03 '15 at 09:52

5 Answers5

77

Crumple is a good option.

I wanted to put everything in words. I tried it on a paper. I did not like it. I crumpled it and threw it in a dustbin.

You find nothing in this dustbin except some crumpled papers.

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Caroffrey
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    I'm 30 seconds late. +1 – shin Dec 01 '15 at 08:59
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    Do people really use other words (besides crumple) for this? – Yakk Dec 01 '15 at 15:50
  • @TRomano attempt using square brackets around the words, and parentheses around the URL: square brackets and parentheses – Golden Cuy Dec 02 '15 at 03:35
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    @Andrew Grimm: your link doesn't work properly. It shows no graphic results. I think the asterisk in the url is giving SE problems. – TimR Dec 02 '15 at 11:38
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    In the UK it's more usual to say "I crumpled it up"... here "up" acts informally as an intensifier.. Something which is "crumpled up" is more crumpled than something which is merely "crumpled". – Ben Dec 02 '15 at 14:48
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    @yakk yes, obviously; see the other answers. i don't find it hard to believe that people in different regions of the world might use different words for the same concept. – user428517 Dec 02 '15 at 23:18
  • I think the 'up' in the phrase 'crumpled up' means 'to completion' -- i.e. these papers are completely crumpled, and cannot be crumpled any further. For another example, 'fill up' -- the container is completely full, cannot be filled any more, and no additional material can be added. – user151841 Dec 03 '15 at 15:54
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Another is "wadded up"

I wadded up the paper into a ball and threw it in the garbage.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wadded

verb (used with object), wadded, wadding.

  1. to form (material) into a wad.

8. to roll tightly (often followed by up): He wadded up his cap and stuck it into his pocket.

9. to hold in place by a wad: They rammed and wadded the shot into their muskets.

10. to put a wad into; stuff with a wad.

Zessa
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    As a native American English speaker, 'wadded up' sounds the best and most-specific to me. – user151841 Dec 01 '15 at 16:59
  • To "wad" means to pack tightly. Doesn't apply here. – Ben Dec 02 '15 at 14:44
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    @Ben It also has sense (7) above, “to form into a wad”. Since wad (noun) itself doesn't denote “tightly-packed,” wadded would appear to apply just fine. – SevenSidedDie Dec 02 '15 at 19:50
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    @Ben this appears to be a uk/american difference that you're unaware of. "wad" is extremely common for this use in am.e—every native am.e speaker would understand this meaning immediately. it's probably more common than "crumple" in am.e, although am.e does use "crumple" as well. – user428517 Dec 02 '15 at 23:09
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    +1 for regional difference: I'm in Canada, and "wadded up" sounds unfamiliar to me; "crumpled" or even "scrunched up" are common here. – sk29910 Dec 03 '15 at 02:39
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    To me, wadding (or balling) up a piece of paper is slightly different from scrunching/crumpling/screwing it up, in that wadding it up implies more determination and force, turning the paper into a compact ball. The other verbs can just be making a light, semi-ballish structure out of it, which wadding isn’t in my head. For instance, this is scrunched/screwed/crumpled (up), while this is wadded or balled up. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 03 '15 at 09:11
  • Wadding up sounds very wierd to my native English ears! I'd be wondering 'to make, or pad what, out of it?' In UK English we'd say 'I screwed it up and threw it away'. This carries No connotation of 'error' as it might in American English. – Jelila Jan 31 '18 at 11:05
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"Balled up" is a good option. It visually explains what is done to the paper.

I wanted to put everything in words. I tried it on a paper. I did not like it. I balled it up and threw it in a dustbin.

You find nothing in this dustbin except some balled up papers.

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Zap
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"Scrunched up papers" is exactly what you're looking for.

I wanted to put everything in words. I tried it on a paper. I did not like it. I scrunched it up and threw it in a dustbin.

You find nothing in this dustbin except some scrunched up papers

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Riley Francisco
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  • Spot on. Though I'd wait for some more answers to flow in. – Maulik V Dec 01 '15 at 08:57
  • I've been wondering for a while. How do you make that paragraph yellow and make it have an indent? – Riley Francisco Dec 01 '15 at 08:58
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    Use a right angular bracket [>] for that. – Maulik V Dec 01 '15 at 09:01
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    This works, but note that it's very informal sounding. "Scrunch" is a "cute" word, and especially in this sense. (Normally, it means a person making themselves small, or tightening their face or hands, so this is anthropomorphic.) – mattdm Dec 01 '15 at 14:12
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    This might be spot on in some places, but I've never heard it in my life in the USA. Maybe it's British? "Crumpled" is what I hear all the time. – Todd Wilcox Dec 01 '15 at 22:02
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    I would use "scrunched up" happily in conversation (for example, when describing what comes out of the printer after a paper jam) but for some reason it's one of those words I would be reluctant to use in writing. – Michael Kay Dec 02 '15 at 10:03
  • @mattdm It puts me in mind of the word "scrunchies". – Pharap Dec 02 '15 at 11:12
  • It's used in Britain. Here's a quote from Red Dwarf: "You can always tell when he's tense. The way he scrunches up cups and throws them in the bin. And I'm not talking about styrofoam here, I'm talking enamel." I would also use crumpled or screwed up as the other answers suggest though. – ssav Dec 02 '15 at 13:37
  • -1: In American English (Internet English), scrunching is infrequently done to anything other than faces. Trying to scrunch anything else is likely to confuse people. "You made a face from a can and then did something with it?" or "You made a can from a face and then crushed it?" No. Avoid the ambiguity. Papers aren't scrunched. – killermist Dec 02 '15 at 23:38
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    Why downvote an answer that's correct? An answer might be correct in one type of a language, but not in another. That doesn't mean it deserves a downvote. – Riley Francisco Dec 02 '15 at 23:41
  • I think you should change the word from 'scrunch' to 'crunch'. It seems that as I read here and here, – Maulik V Dec 03 '15 at 05:07
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    As an American, I agree with @MichaelKay -- "scrunched" is a great word for paper that's jammed in a printer (or copier); as such, it seems more applicable to paper that's been wrinkled up in a very linear fashion, e.g. https://cartouchescertifiees.com/blogue/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/bourrage-papier.jpg – Doktor J Dec 03 '15 at 06:57
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    @killermist American English is not the same as Internet English. English on the Internet takes all kinds of different shapes and forms—and besides, scrunching up paper is perfectly valid in American English, too; see, for example, Merriam-Webster’s definition 2b. Papers are scrunched up all the time, even if not necessarily where you live. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 03 '15 at 08:52
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Screwed-up is an alternative to scrunched up.

I wanted to put everything in words. I tried it on a paper. I did not like it. I screwed it up and threw it in a dustbin.

You'll find nothing in this dustbin except some screwed-up papers.

As found in the Collins English dictionary:

Verb If you screw something such as a piece of paper into a ball, you squeeze it or twist it tightly so that it is in the shape of a ball. BRIT.

"He screwed the paper into a ball and tossed it into the fire."

AM use crush

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Ilessa
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  • not quite. It's common in British English. I'll add a link – Ilessa Dec 01 '15 at 14:45
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    Thank you! It is best to provide details when sharing an answer to avoid misconception and ambiguity. (+1) – shin Dec 01 '15 at 14:57
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    In American English, this does not mean crumpled into a ball; it means "ruined by mistakes". My first assumption would be that the paper contained a form, and you filled it out wrong. – mattdm Dec 01 '15 at 15:02
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    In my experience (British English) this option would be far more commonly used than any of the other options presented. – Mark Booth Dec 01 '15 at 15:09
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    Yeah, this is definitely not American English. Screwed up is used in a VERY different way in AmE. I can't stress enough that this would get very confused looks and problems with understanding in America. – Zessa Dec 01 '15 at 15:13
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    @Zessa... In all fairness, it hasn't been specified whether it's AmE or British English. – Ilessa Dec 01 '15 at 15:22
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    @Ilessa Yes of course. Thus my warning. I just didn't want the learner to miss that it was as British thing and possibly use it with American colleagues. – Zessa Dec 01 '15 at 15:29
  • I use 'screwed up' quite often and it is entirely different – Maulik V Dec 02 '15 at 04:47
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    Screwed up has multiple meanings. One meaning is to make a mistake (which I'd like to point out is a colloquialism), another is (according to wiktionary) "(transitive) To twist into a contorted state", which is the meaning applied here. – Pharap Dec 02 '15 at 11:09
  • -1: screwed up implies user error, not preparation to be discarded. – killermist Dec 02 '15 at 23:32
  • @killermist Incorrect. Screwed-up implied user error if that makes sense in the context given; in other cases, it does not. “He screwed up the scrap of paper and chucked it in the bin” does not in any way whatsoever imply that he erred with the scrap of paper—not even in AmE, even if it is less common there. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 03 '15 at 08:42
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    @JanusBahsJacquet "He screwed up the scrap of paper and chucked it in the bin" in AmE (and I KNOW this) means "He screwed up (errored) on filling out the [red tape] paper, threw it away, and started again." I'm sorry if your perception of American English is that out of whack. – killermist Dec 03 '15 at 08:52
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    @killermist You seem to be labo(u)ring under the misapprehension that there is no regional variation within AmE. I can assure you there is. I have heard Americans, from varying parts of the country, talking about screwing up paper into a ball with absolutely no hint of any kind of user error on quite a few occasions. It may not be common where you are (I agree it’s less common than the other answers overall in AmE), but there is nothing incorrect or downvote-worthy about it. “I’ve never heard this” is not a reason to downvote an answer. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 03 '15 at 08:56
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    @JanusBahsJacquet To be clear, if a person were to use it in verbal conversation in Indianapolis, Indiana, I would take pause and ask for clarification what the person was trying to say. This is opposed to any person saying verbally that they scrunched, balled, or crumpled up the paper and [pick a form] discarded it. "Screwed up" == error. Used out of context == ambiguity. – killermist Dec 03 '15 at 09:01
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    In English English (I'm a native speaker) we would normally say 'I screwed up the paper and threw it away'. 'I screwed it up and threw it away'. Meaning I squeezed it into a ball and put it in the bin. There is no sense of 'error' at all, in that, in English. Crumpled and wadded would be more poetic words to use - not everday speech. In the UK people generally also know the expression 'I screwed up' to mean a mistake has been made. This is distinct from paper-balling however! Screwed up is a separate phrase, known as an Americanism, and also used to mean 'I made a mistake' in other contexts. – Jelila Jan 31 '18 at 11:01