Synonyms of contracting

contracting 1 of 2

noun

as in squeezing

the act or process of reducing the size or volume of something by or as if by pressing

the contracting of the time frame for the primaries tends to favor candidates who are already well-known

Synonyms & Similar Words

• squeezing
• compression
• condensing
• contraction
• squeeze
• condensation
• consolidation
• constriction
• compaction
• constricting
• telescoping
• compacting
• concentration
• shortening
• curtailment
• decreasing
• abbreviation
• streamlining
• abridgment
• simplification
• lessening
• diminishment

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expansion
• dispersion
• scattering
• inflation
• decompression
• dissipation
• swelling
• dilation
• distension

contracting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of contract

1

as in getting

to become affected with (a disease or disorder)

before vaccines were invented, people lived in fear of contracting polio

Synonyms & Similar Words

• getting
• catching
• taking
• coming down (with)
• going down (with)
• sickening (with)
• weakening
• worsening
• dying (from)
• succumbing (to)
• failing
• sinking
• breaking out (with)
• languishing
• wasting (away)
• withering
• wilting

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovering
• gaining
• healing
• coming back
• recuperating
• mending
• shaking (off)
• recouping
• recovering (from)
• rebounding
• snapping back
• rallying

2

as in shrinking

to become smaller in size or volume through the drawing together of particles of matter

metal contracts at low temperatures

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shrinking
• compressing
• decreasing
• condensing
• constricting
• collapsing
• flattening
• withdrawing
• diminishing
• retreating
• shriveling
• dwindling
• drying up
• lessening
• receding
• withering
• deflating
• wilting
• abating

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expanding
• swelling
• increasing
• growing
• accumulating
• snowballing
• ballooning
• inflating
• puffing (up)
• ballooning

3

as in compressing

to reduce in size or volume by or as if by pressing parts or members together

contract the calf muscles in your legs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• compressing
• squeezing
• condensing
• consolidating
• packing
• collapsing
• constricting
• compacting
• narrowing (down)
• telescoping
• constringing
• simplifying
• capsuling
• capsulizing
• cramming
• shortening
• curtailing
• downsizing
• shrinking
• decreasing
• crowding
• jamming
• abridging
• streamlining
• concentrating
• abbreviating
• diminishing
• jam-packing
• boiling down
• lessening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• expanding
• opening
• dilating
• dispersing
• scattering
• dissipating
• decompressing
• swelling
• outspreading
• outstretching
• inflating
• distending

4

as in bargaining

to come to an arrangement as to a course of action

the farmer contracted for delivery of the hay by the first of July

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bargaining
• agreeing
• covenanting
• coming to terms
• arranging
• underwriting
• striking a bargain
• coming around
• subscribing
• coming round
• settling

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• differing
• disagreeing
• dissenting
• revoking
• canceling
• arguing
• objecting
• contesting
• disputing
• reneging

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of contracting

Noun

Second District Supervisor Sarmiento said the audit continues to expose problems in the county’s contracting processes. — Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 12 Aug. 2026

Critics may reasonably ask whether a procurement preference could increase the state’s contracting costs. — David I. Levine, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026

If the typical contracting safeguards had been in place, perhaps everything that followed could have been prevented. — Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026

That phrase appears in a contracting document for Acentra Health that was first reported on by independent journalists through the newsletter Popular Information. — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026

Carla Chiorazzo was appointed CFO of Adolfson & Peterson Construction, a national construction management and contracting firm. — Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2026

Previously, contracting goals set by the city were based also on race and gender of the businesses. — Zaire Breedlove, Charlotte Observer, 3 Aug. 2026

Wickes approved a resolution authorizing Wilson-Henri as a contracting officer. — Joseph Flaherty, Arkansas Online, 2 Aug. 2026

Many of the promissory notes allegedly listed a Kansas City contracting company as the borrower. — Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026

Verb

But the legacy sequel as near-inevitability didn’t really take off in earnest until the 2000s, when millennial nostalgia started contracting in quicker cycles. — Vadim Rizov, IndieWire, 12 Aug. 2026

The proposal also would restrict California agencies from contracting with companies that allow federal and out-of-state law enforcement agencies to search California license plate databases, according to CalMatters. — Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Instead of contracting for one Repkon production line, the Army signed up to buy three. — Jesse Coburn, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2026

Here’s why health officials are so concerned about this deadly infection – and ways to avoid contracting it. — Bill Sullivan, The Conversation, 11 Aug. 2026

McConnell has not been seen or heard in public since he was hospitalized in mid-June after suffering the fall at his home in Washington and then contracting pneumonia. — Kevin Breuninger,garrett Downs, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026

This summer’s cyclospora outbreak has triggered worries about contracting a nasty foodborne gastrointestinal illness caused by the microscopic parasite. — Gina Vivinetto, NBC news, 4 Aug. 2026

While no deaths have been reported locally, on Monday, two Michigan residents died after contracting cyclosporiasis, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said. — Elyssa Kaufman, CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026

The closure of these two spaces also doesn’t mean Gagosian is contracting. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 3 Aug. 2026