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Definitions

shorten

[shawr-tn] / ˈʃɔr tn /
VERB
diminish, decrease
Synonyms
STRONGEST
abbreviate compress curtail cut cut back cut down lessen minimize reduce shrink slash trim
STRONG
abridge bob chop clip condense contract dock edit elide excerpt lop retrench snip
WEAK
blue pencil boil down cut to the bone make a long story short put in a nutshell
Antonyms
STRONGEST
develop enlarge expand extend grow increase lengthen raise strengthen stretch
WEAK
amplify elongate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In April, OpenAI introduced GPT-Rosalind, which it says is intended to help researchers shorten drug-development timelines.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026

She'd actually go further and ban short-form video altogether because "they shorten children's attention spans".

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

There was a machinery working to shorten his punishment.

From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026

Policymakers this week cited the impact of rising oil costs because of the Iran war, as countries have had to shorten workweeks, ration cooking fuel and find ways to subsidize the costs for their consumers.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

Bree and Hwin had already got themselves as dirty and bedraggled as they could and it only remained to shorten their tails.

From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

Vocabulary lists containing shorten

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