Flexoelectricity in wrinkled thin films

•The amplitude, wavelength, and critical strain of the wrinkled film-substrate system are redefined with flexoelectricity in mind.•Enhanced flexoelectricity improves the stretchability and the available energy of wrinkle-based flexoelectric devices.•Winkles induce large-area and continuously tunable strain gradient and flexoelectric polar pattern in nonpolar dielectrics.•The wrinkle-induced flexoelectric polar pattern provides a voltage-free strategy for mechanically modifying the polarity of dielectric materials.