shorten
verb
Simple meaning
Reduce or retrench in length or duration.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
shawrtuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈʃɔɹtən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration
“He shortened his trip due to illness.”
transitive
To make shorter; to abbreviate.
transitive
To make deficient (as to); to deprive (of).
transitive
To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, etc.
transitive
To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen.
intransitive
To become shorter.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration
Used this way, shorten is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“He shortened his trip due to illness.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use shorten
- “He shortened his trip due to illness.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Fat such as butter or lard used in baked goods.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: make shorter than originally intended
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.