as in shortening
to make less in extent or duration
curtailed the school day because of the stormy weather
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Recent Examples of curtailing
In a country that bills itself as a beacon of free speech, educational institutions especially should not be curtailing it.
—
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026
The stock hit a new high before curtailing some of its gains.
—Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 6 May 2026
The high court declared last week that Louisiana’s addition of a second majority-Black congressional district is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in a 6-3 decision, curtailing Section 2 of the voting law that has long enabled advocacy groups to force new majority-minority districts.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 4 May 2026
Pakistan and Bangladesh have closed schools, and, across Southeast Asia, officials are working from home and curtailing travel.
—Wendy Cutler, Fortune, 2 May 2026
But Emirati officials had threatened for years to leave, blaming Opec’s production quotas for unfairly curtailing its oil exports.
—Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 30 Apr. 2026
Instead of curtailing the spending spree, the City Council put a sales tax hike on the November 2024 ballot.
—Mark Powell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
War has a way of curtailing imagination.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026
Over more than 50 years, each new presidential administration has reassessed the place of spaceflight among its priorities, either encouraging or curtailing NASA’s efforts to return humans to the lunar surface.
—Emily A. Margolis, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2026
Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026
The stock hit a new high before curtailing some of its gains.
—Jason Gewirtz, CNBC, 6 May 2026
The high court declared last week that Louisiana’s addition of a second majority-Black congressional district is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander in a 6-3 decision, curtailing Section 2 of the voting law that has long enabled advocacy groups to force new majority-minority districts.
—Mike Lillis, The Hill, 4 May 2026
Pakistan and Bangladesh have closed schools, and, across Southeast Asia, officials are working from home and curtailing travel.
—Wendy Cutler, Fortune, 2 May 2026
But Emirati officials had threatened for years to leave, blaming Opec’s production quotas for unfairly curtailing its oil exports.
—Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 30 Apr. 2026
Instead of curtailing the spending spree, the City Council put a sales tax hike on the November 2024 ballot.
—Mark Powell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
War has a way of curtailing imagination.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2026
Over more than 50 years, each new presidential administration has reassessed the place of spaceflight among its priorities, either encouraging or curtailing NASA’s efforts to return humans to the lunar surface.
—Emily A. Margolis, The Conversation, 31 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curtailing
Verb
-
In the surgical procedure, a v-shape of the lower lid is removed thereby shortening the area and reducing the defect.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2026
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Part of that vision includes increasing how often NASA launches Artemis' Space Launch System (SLS) rocket — with the goal of shortening the gap between missions from a few years to about 10 months.—
Chelsea Gohd,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
Unfortunately, facilities at public parks and libraries close at nightfall, greatly reducing the number of bathrooms available.—
Michael Perkins,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 May 2026
-
In the surgical procedure, a v-shape of the lower lid is removed thereby shortening the area and reducing the defect.—
Dr. John De Jong,
Boston Herald,
10 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Curtailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curtailing. Accessed 13 May. 2026.
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