Verb shorten has 5 senses
  1. shorten - make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration; "He shortened his trip due to illness"
    --1 is one way to
    reduce, cut down, cut back, trim, trim down, trim back, cut, bring down
    Antonyms: lengthen
    Derived form: noun shortener1
    Sample sentences:
    Somebody ----s something
    Something ----s something
  2. abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce - reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened"
    --2 is one way to decrease, lessen, minify
    Derived form: noun shortener1
    Sample sentences:
    Somebody ----s something
    Something ----s something
  3. shorten - make short or shorter; "shorten the skirt"; "shorten the rope by a few inches"
    --3 is one way to
    change, alter, modify
    Derived forms: noun shortener1, noun shortening2
    Sample sentence:
    They shorten their hair
  4. shorten - become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten"
    --4 is one way to
    decrease, diminish, lessen, fall
    Antonyms: lengthen
    Sample sentence:
    Something ----s
  5. bowdlerize, bowdlerise, expurgate, castrate, shorten - edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate; "bowdlerize a novel"
    --5 is one way to abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce
    Sample sentence:
    They won't shorten the story
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