as in to reduce
to make less in extent or duration
we decided to shorten the distance we had to walk home by cutting across the neighbor's lawn if Grandma has to go shopping today, you'll need to shorten your visit
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shorten
In the 2000s, several countries shortened the tenure of their central banks’ governors to four or five years.
—
Ana Carolina Garriga, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2025
Tariffs could also slow nearshoring efforts aimed at increasing resiliency by shortening the supply chain between manufacturers and their U.S. customers.
—Guy Courtin, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Martinez was in his second year as manager in ‘19. COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
And overconsumption of short-form, shallow content is shortening our attention spans.
—Renée Onque, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shorten
Ana Carolina Garriga, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2025
Tariffs could also slow nearshoring efforts aimed at increasing resiliency by shortening the supply chain between manufacturers and their U.S. customers.
—Guy Courtin, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Martinez was in his second year as manager in ‘19. COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
And overconsumption of short-form, shallow content is shortening our attention spans.
—Renée Onque, CNBC, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shorten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shorten
Verb
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Traditional office leasing implies maintainable overheads, upkeep costs and long-term financial commitments; modular offices eliminate them and reduce construction costs by as much as 30%.—
Ascend Agency,
New York Daily News,
21 Apr. 2025
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Keeping yourself hydrated and reducing your salt intake may also help reduce bloating and help your body rid itself of excess fluid. Types of Creatine Several types of creatine are used in supplements.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
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But critics have questioned why the church, historically a defender of human rights and Christian values, would willingly join forces with the Chinese government, which under leader Xi Jinping has further curtailed religious freedom.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2025
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Recently organized boycotts against corporations that have substantially curtailed their DEI efforts, like Target, have been effective and provide environmentalists with a powerful blueprint to follow.—
Jerel Ezell,
Time,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
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All four players had fond memories of the tournament, with Dostál offering a bit of good-natured ribbing toward Pastrnak and recalling not only his triumph of 2024 but his first experience in 2022, when his tournament was truncated by an injury.—
Andrew Knoll,
Oc Register,
25 Mar. 2025
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However, there is no compelling reason to believe that truncating the number of neurons is an optimal strategy.—
Sam Mugel,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In every single scenario, participants rated the abbreviating sender as less sincere and far less worthy of a reply.—
David Fang,
The Conversation,
9 Apr. 2025
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Even with his career being injury abbreviated, there are those to this day who would place him No. 1, ahead of Gretzky and Howe.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Three firms have sued, arguing that the orders abridge constitutional rights to free speech, due process, and assistance of counsel.—
Henry Gass,
Christian Science Monitor,
3 Apr. 2025
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Establishing spheres of influence involves a dominant power abridging the sovereignty of geographically proximate states—as Trump is seeking to do with Canada, Greenland, and Mexico and as China is attempting with Taiwan.—
Monica Duffy Toft,
Foreign Affairs,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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During one session at Palace’s training ground in Beckenham, a young attacker took the ball down the flank, beat his man and cut back in-field to do so again.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2025
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The uncertainty of tariffs and growing recession fears could also weigh on McDonald's sales, if consumers cut back on their Big Macs and McNuggets.—
Gabrielle Fonrouge,Annika Kim Constantino,Leslie Josephs,Ari Levy,Amelia Lucas,Melissa Repko,Hugh Son,Michael Wayland,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shorten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shorten. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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