abridge

[ uh-brij ]

verb (used with object)

, a·bridged, a·bridg·ing.

1. to shorten by omissions while retaining the basic contents:

   to abridge a reference book.

   Synonyms: abstract, condense, epitomize, summarize, digest

   Antonyms: lengthen

2. to reduce or lessen in duration, scope, authority, etc.; diminish; curtail: to abridge one's freedom.

   to abridge a visit;

   to abridge one's freedom.

   Synonyms: reduce, contract

   Antonyms: expand

3. to deprive; cut off.

abridge

/ əˈbrɪdʒ /

verb

1. to reduce the length of (a written work) by condensing or rewriting
2. to curtail; diminish
3. archaic.
   to deprive of (privileges, rights, etc)

Derived Forms

• aˈbridgable, adjective
• aˈbridger, noun

Other Words From

• a·bridg·a·ble a·bridge·a·ble adjective
• a·bridg·er noun
• non·a·bridg·a·ble adjective
• re·a·bridge verb (used with object) reabridged reabridging

Word History and Origins

Origin of abridge¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English abreggen, abriggen, from Middle French abreg(i)er, from Late Latin abbreviāre “to shorten”; a- ⁴, abbreviate

Word History and Origins

Origin of abridge¹

C14: via Old French abregier from Late Latin abbreviāre to shorten

Synonym Study

See shorten.

Example Sentences

Certainly, the Fifteenth was a beacon of democracy’s light because it codified that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged… on account of race.”

From Time

I find that the civil rights of the defendant have been abridged.

From Time

The group hiked an abridged 60-mile route that started and finished in Chamonix, walking between eight and 12 miles each day, up and over mountain passes and down into valleys.

From Outside Online

The 1973 miniseries, which aired on Swedish TV and screened internationally in an abridged feature cut, traces a tumultuous decade in the life of an upper-middle-class couple, played by Liv Ullman and Erland Josephson.

From Time

The world first learned of Sophie Zhang in September 2020, when BuzzFeed News obtained and published highlights from an abridged version of her nearly 8,000-word exit memo from Facebook.

From MIT Technology Review

At the right time and in the right dose, it can ease and abridge economic maladies.

From The Daily Beast

And all such things as have been comprised in five books by Jason, of Cyrene, we have attempted to abridge in one book.

From Project Gutenberg

This would serve to abridge the liberty of speech guaranteed to us by the Constitution.

From Project Gutenberg

We shall, however, be obliged to abridge his detailed exposition in order not to enlarge our volume beyond due limits.

From Project Gutenberg

Teach us to love the South and be contented here by ceasing to abridge us in such extremes in common rights and citizenship.

From Project Gutenberg

In one place a dammed-off deviation was being excavated, evidently to abridge an impossible bend.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• abbreviate
• curtail
• truncate