SHORTEN: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for SHORTEN?

Need another word that means the same as “shorten”? Find 30 synonyms and 30 related words for “shorten” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Shorten” are: bowdlerise, bowdlerize, castrate, expurgate, abbreviate, abridge, contract, cut, foreshorten, reduce, make shorter, condense, precis, synopsize, compress, lessen, shrink, decrease, diminish, cut down, cut short, dock, trim, clip, crop, pare down, prune, get shorter, grow shorter, grow less

Shorten as a Verb

Definitions of "Shorten" as a verb

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “shorten” as a verb can have the following definitions:

• (with reference to gambling odds) make or become shorter; decrease.
• Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements.
• Make or become shorter.
• Make short or shorter.
• Make (a vowel or syllable) short.
• Reduce the amount of (sail spread.
• Edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate.
• Become short or shorter.
• Make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration.

Synonyms of "Shorten" as a verb (30 Words)

abbreviate	Shorten the duration of; cut short. I decided to abbreviate my stay in Cambridge.
abridge	Curtail (a right or privilege. Even the right to free speech can be abridged.
bowdlerise	Edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate.
bowdlerize	Remove material that is considered improper or offensive from (a text or account), especially with the result that the text becomes weaker or less effective. Bowdlerize a novel.
castrate	Remove the testicles of (a male animal or man). A restrictive classicism would have castrated England s literature.
clip	Fasten or be fastened with a clip or clips. The panels simply clip on to the framework.
compress	Squeeze or press (two things) together. Viola compressed her lips together grimly.
condense	Change or cause to change from a gas or vapour to a liquid. Condense the milk.
contract	Enter into a contractual arrangement. A buyer may contract for the right to withhold payment.
crop	Yield crops. She cropped her long golden hair.
cut	Cut off the testicles of male animals such as horses. Niall brought the car to a halt and cut the engine.
cut down	Cut down on make a reduction in.
cut short	Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements.
decrease	Decrease in size extent or range. The aisles were decreased in height.
diminish	Lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of. The new law is expected to diminish the government s chances.
dock	Maneuver into a dock. The yard where the boats were docked and maintained.
expurgate	Remove matter thought to be objectionable or unsuitable from (a text or account. Editors heavily expurgated the novel before its initial publication.
foreshorten	Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements. Leicestershire won by 133 runs in a foreshortened contest.
get shorter	Cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner.
grow less	Come into existence; take on form or shape.
grow shorter	Become attached by or as if by the process of growth.
lessen	Wear off or die down. The warmth of the afternoon lessened.
make shorter	Give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally.
pare down	Cut small bits or pare shavings from.
precis	Make a precis of a text or speech.
prune	Cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of.
reduce	Reduce in size reduce physically. The sauce should reduce to one cup.
shrink	Wither, as with a loss of moisture. I don t shrink from my responsibilities.
synopsize	Give a brief summary or general survey of (something. Your r sum should synopsize your experience.
trim	Adjust the balance of a ship or aircraft by rearranging its cargo or by means of its trim tabs. He trimmed down from twenty two stone to a mere eighteen.

Usage Examples of "Shorten" as a verb

• Ladbrokes shortened Nashwan's odds from 2–1 to 7–4.
• Around mid September, days shorten and temperatures dip.
• The preceding vowels are shortened.
• As skirts shortened, so heels rose.
• In winter, the days shorten.
• Shorten the rope by a few inches.
• The odds had shortened to 14–1.
• The manuscript must be shortened.
• Shorten the skirt.
• Patients whose waiting time had been shortened.
• Before sail could be shortened she went on to her beam ends.
• He shortened his stride.
• He shortened his trip due to illness.

Associations of "Shorten" (30 Words)

abate	Reduce or remove (a nuisance. Nothing abated his crusading zeal.
abbreviate	Shorten. I decided to abbreviate my stay in Cambridge.
abridge	Shorten (a piece of writing) without losing the sense. The introduction is abridged from the author s afterword to the novel.
atrophy	Undergo atrophy. Muscles that are not used will atrophy.
bowdlerize	Remove material that is considered improper or offensive from (a text or account), especially with the result that the text becomes weaker or less effective. Every edition of his letters and diaries has been bowdlerized.
curtail	Place restrictions on. Civil liberties were further curtailed.
decrease	The amount by which something decreases. The aisles were decreased in height.
decrement	Cause a discrete reduction in (a numerical quantity. Relaxation produces a decrement in sympathetic nervous activity.
depletion	Reduction in the number or quantity of something. The depletion of the ozone layer.
dilute	(of colour or light) weak or low in concentration. The reforms have been diluted.
diminish	Cause to seem less impressive or valuable. The trial has aged and diminished him.
downgrade	An instance of reducing someone or something’s rank, status, or level of importance. A steep downgrade for which he had to put the car in second.
dwindle	Become smaller or lose substance. Her savings dwindled down.
encapsulate	Enclose (an organ or structure of the body) in a tough sheath or membrane. Pancreatic tumours are encapsulated in a densely packed thicket of proteins and cells.
excise	Charge excise on goods. The rate of excise duty on spirits.
expurgate	Edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate. Editors heavily expurgated the novel before its initial publication.
extenuate	Lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of. Drawings of extenuated figures.
flinch	An act of flinching. She flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf.
haircut	An act of cutting a person’s hair. Hair salons offering discounted haircuts.
palliate	Lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of. There is no way to excuse or palliate his dirty deed.
reduce	Reduce in size reduce physically. Reduce an image.
retrench	Reduce (something) in extent or quantity. Right wing parties which seek to retrench the welfare state.
rundown	(of a company or industry) in a poor economic state. A rundown in the business would be a devastating blow to the local economy.
shrink	Be averse to or unwilling to do (something difficult or unappealing. You should see a shrink.
shrinkage	An allowance made for reduction in the takings of a business due to wastage or theft. The material lost 2 inches per yard in shrinkage.
shrinking	Becoming smaller in size or amount. The shrinking market has provoked a massive price war.
shrivel	Decrease in size, range, or extent. My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me.
understate	Describe or represent (something) as being smaller or less good or important than it really is. The press have understated the extent of the problem.
weaken	Destroy property or hinder normal operations. The fever weakened his body.
wince	Make a face indicating disgust or dislike. She winced when she heard his pompous speech.