as in shortens
to make less in extent or duration
curtailed the school day because of the stormy weather
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Recent Examples of curtails
The Postal Service™ curtails delivery only after careful consideration, and only as a last resort.
—
Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 24 Jan. 2026
The connection of these celestial entities brightens our drive, but curtails our intuition.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 16 Jan. 2026
Trump formalized the policy in a sweeping executive order signed Wednesday that sharply curtails how defense contractors can use profits and compensate executives.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
Such a reading of the law at the center of the case could provide Trump an opening -- along with other tariffs that have not been challenged in court -- to continue his global-trotting mission to reshape trade imbalances, even if the high court curtails his broad tariff power.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2025
Where To Stay in Martin County With a strict ban on buildings over four stories, the Treasure Coast curtails the kind of over development that can choke out some Florida beach towns.
—Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
Equity grading, which curtails teacher discretion, should be junked.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
His minority interest in the Raiders presents a clear conflict of interest that at least subconsciously likely curtails his willingness to criticize, at least to an extent.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 24 Jan. 2026
The connection of these celestial entities brightens our drive, but curtails our intuition.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 16 Jan. 2026
Trump formalized the policy in a sweeping executive order signed Wednesday that sharply curtails how defense contractors can use profits and compensate executives.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
Such a reading of the law at the center of the case could provide Trump an opening -- along with other tariffs that have not been challenged in court -- to continue his global-trotting mission to reshape trade imbalances, even if the high court curtails his broad tariff power.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2025
Where To Stay in Martin County With a strict ban on buildings over four stories, the Treasure Coast curtails the kind of over development that can choke out some Florida beach towns.
—Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
Equity grading, which curtails teacher discretion, should be junked.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
His minority interest in the Raiders presents a clear conflict of interest that at least subconsciously likely curtails his willingness to criticize, at least to an extent.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curtails
shortens
Verb
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That design choice lowers costs and shortens deployment time.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Not only do the chinstraps and Adelies have more competition for food from gentoos because of the warming and changes in plankton and krill, but the changes have brought more commercial fishing that comes earlier and that further shortens the supply for the penguins, Suttle said.—
Seth Borenstein,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Curtails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curtails. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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