abbreviate

noun

(obsolete, Scotland) An abridgment.

verb

(transitive) To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form.

(transitive) To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned.

(transitive, mathematics) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

(obsolete, transitive) To shorten by omitting parts or details.

(obsolete, intransitive) To speak or write in a brief manner.

adjective

(biology) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type.

(obsolete, as a participle) Abbreviated.

(obsolete, as a participial adjective) Abbreviated, abridged, shortened.

Roots

brevisbrevi- · Latin · short

Synonyms for abbreviate

shortenv abridgev foreshortenv reducev curtailv truncatev bowdlerizev cutv condensev omitv

Synonyms & related words for abbreviate

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of abbreviate — including shorten, abridge, foreshorten, reduce, curtail, truncate. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to abbreviate

Explore words related to abbreviate — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include abbreviator, abridger, unabbreviated, detruncate, abbreviations, shorter, curtal, initialism. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for abbreviate

Common synonyms for abbreviate include shorten, abridge, foreshorten, reduce, curtail, truncate, bowdlerize, cut — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does abbreviate come from?

The word abbreviate breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root brevi-, from Latin brevis (“short”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.