abridging

verb

present participle of abridge
as in shortening
to make less in extent or duration the library's hours have been drastically abridged to cut costs

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abridging Advertisement The Fifteenth Amendment had prohibited denying or abridging voting rights based on race, color, or conditions of previous servitude. — Time, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abridging
  1. shortening
  2. curtailing
Verb
  • All month long, the planet will slide lower in the southwest after sunset, shortening the window for a good view.
    — Joe Rao, Space.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • With intermittent rain in the forecast over the next week, some sessions could be rescheduled or delayed for hours, corralling fans and shortening the time players have to recover for their next round.
    — Aaron Short, Curbed, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of shortening
Verb
  • The miniseries is only three hours long, so Wallace had to heavily truncate King’s gargantuan tome, curtailing and expunging scenes and entire characters, as well as toning things down to fit broadcast rules.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The United States should expect Beijing to continue to wield its agriculture sector for geopolitical influence, whether through curtailing imports of food, restricting exports of select commodities, or both.
    — Caitlin Welsh, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of curtailing

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Cite this Entry

“Abridging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abridging. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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