short

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adjective

Definition of SHORT

1

having relatively little height <a lot of boys are shorter than the girls in middle school, but they quickly catch up by high school>

Synonyms little, low, low-lying, low-slung, sawed-off

Related Words dwarf, dwarfish; compact, petite, slight; diminutive, half-pint, pint-size (or pint-sized), pocket, pocket-size (also pocket-sized), pygmy, small, smallish; bantam, bitty, dinky, mini, miniature, minimized, minute, puny, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, undersized (also undersize), wee; dumpy, flat, scrubby, squat, squatty, stubby, stumpy, stunted

Near Antonyms elevated, lifted, raised, uplifted, upswept; high-rise, statuesque; gangling, gangly, lanky, rangy; big, bulky, hefty, hulking, large, largish, outsize (also outsized), oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), voluminous

Antonyms altitudinous, high, lofty, tall, towering

2

not lasting for a considerable time <fortunately for those of us in the hot sun, the graduation speech was short and to the point>

Synonyms brief, fast, little

Related Words shortish; abbreviated, abridged, curtailed, cut-back, shortened, syncopated; compact, condensed; abrupt, sudden; ephemeral, fleeting, momentary, short-lived, transient, transitory; impermanent; compendious, concise, crisp, epigrammatic, laconic, pithy, succinct, summary, terse; short-range, short-term

Near Antonyms endless, everlasting, interminable, persistent, unending; longish, overlong, prolonged, protracted; permanent; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; long-range, long-term

Antonyms extended, far, great, lengthy, long, long-drawn-out (or long-drawn), long-lived

3

not coming up to an expected measure or meeting a particular need <regrettably, the art supplies are short this year, so you'll have to share>

Synonyms deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, low, scarce, shy, wanting

Related Words substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory; hand-to-mouth, lean, light, meager (or meagre), niggardly, poor, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy; bare, mere, minimum; slight, small

Near Antonyms abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, plentitudinous; enlarged, expanded, supplemented; abounding, overflowing, teeming; satisfactory, tolerable; lavish, luxuriant, rich; big, considerable, hefty, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), large, largish, oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, super

Antonyms adequate, enough, sufficient

4

having a texture that readily breaks into little pieces under pressure <short pastry>

Synonyms brickle [dialect], brittle, crispy, crumbly, embrittled, flaky (also flakey), friable, short

Related Words crackly, crisped, crispened, crunchy, crusty; breakable, delicate, fragile

Near Antonyms elastic, flexible, pliable, pliant, resilient; strong, sturdy, tough

5

being or characterized by direct, brief, and potentially rude speech or manner <I didn't mean to be so short with you by responding to your request with a snippy “I'm busy!”>

Synonyms abrupt, bluff, brusque (also brusk), crusty, curt, downright, short, short-spoken, snippy, unceremonious

Related Words gruff, rough, snappish; candid, direct, forthright, foursquare, frank, free-spoken, open, outspoken, plain, plainspoken, point-blank, straightforward, straight-out; artless, discourteous, disrespectful, impertinent, impolite, inconsiderate, insensitive, rude, tactless, undiplomatic; brief, closemouthed, laconic, reserved, reticent, terse, tight-lipped; earnest, honest, sincere; coarse, crass, crude, low, uncouth, vulgar

Near Antonyms civil, considerate, courteous, diplomatic, gracious, polite, politic, smooth, suave, tactful; loquacious, talkative, voluble; long-winded, prolix, verbose; courtly, cultivated, gallant, genteel, polished, refined

Antonyms circuitous, mealymouthed