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.

The package would allow developers to build housing with fewer parking spaces and would shorten timelines for construction-permit reviews.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

Eccentric exercise focuses on the phase when muscles lengthen rather than shorten.

From Science Daily • May 1, 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

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

Banned Book Week Words

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shorten

Example Sentences

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Vocabulary lists containing shorten

Banned Book Week Words