SHORTEN

bowdlerize, bowdlerise, expurgate, castrate, shorten

(verb) edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; “bowdlerize a novel”

abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce

(verb) reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; “The manuscript must be shortened”

shorten

(verb) become short or shorter; “In winter, the days shorten”

shorten

(verb) make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration; “He shortened his trip due to illness”

shorten

(verb) make short or shorter; “shorten the skirt”; “shorten the rope by a few inches”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Verb

shorten (third-person singular simple present shortens, present participle shortening, simple past and past participle shortened)

(transitive) To make shorter; to abbreviate.

(intransitive) To become shorter.

(transitive) To make deficient (as to); to deprive (of).

(transitive) To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, etc.

(transitive) To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen.

(nautical, transitive) To take in the slack of (a rope).

(nautical, transitive) To reduce (sail) by taking it in.

Synonyms

• See also shorten

Antonyms

• extend

• lengthen

Anagrams

• Herston, Hornets, Rhotens, Thorens, enhorts, hornets, snoreth, thrones

Proper noun

Shorten (plural Shortens)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Shorten is the 31790^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 726 individuals. Shorten is most common among White (79.61%) and Black/African American (14.19%) individuals.

Anagrams

• Herston, Hornets, Rhotens, Thorens, enhorts, hornets, snoreth, thrones

Source: Wiktionary

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Short"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shortened ; p. pr. & vb. n. Shortening.] Etym: [See Short, a.]

1. To make short or shorter in measure, extent, or time; as, to shorten distance; to shorten a road; to shorten days of calamity.

2. To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen; to abridge; to curtail; to contract; as, to shorten work, an allowance of food, etc. Here, where the subject is so fruitful, I am shortened by my chain. Dryden.

3. To make deficient (as to); to deprive; -- with of. Spoiled of his nose, and shortened of his ears. Dryden.

4. To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, pot liquor, or the like. To shorten a rope (Naut.), to take in the slack of it.

– To shorten sail (Naut.), to reduce sail by taking it in.

Short"en, v. i.

Definition: To become short or shorter; as, the day shortens in northern latitudes from June to December; a metallic rod shortens by cold.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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