to shorten
39
2.1
- verb
- /ˈʃɔːrtən/
:
acortarse
- I want to know what are three things that people do daily that shorten their lifespan?
- days shorten
- attention spans shorten
- distances shorten
But also what they found is that my cervix is short and is continuing to shorten over time throughout this pregnancy.
- But also what they found is that my cervix is short and is continuing to shorten over time throughout this pregnancy.
Examples
-
As the Moon moves closer to us, our months will begin to shorten.
-
All right, so if you were to do this operation, wouldn't it most likely kill me or at least shorten my life?
-
And yeah, indeed there are single gene mutations that shorten lifespan.
-
All smoking does is destroys your lungs, and shortens your life.
-
People with SMI have a significantly shortened lifespan compared with the general population.
Academic text (2015) -
A rough calculation suggests that each cigarette shortens life expectancy by 11 minutes.
Academic text (2012) -
In an age of electronic media and hyper-fast computers, our attention span has shortened considerably.
Academic text (1996) -
But now we know that anger, chronic anger, shortens a person's lifespan.
-
Even a few days' sunbathing on a beach wouldn't appreciably shorten the average person's lifespan.
Fiction book (1990) -
Regular exercise can help to shorten recovery time from injuries.
Synonyms
∞
1.6
To make something smaller in amount, size, or number
325
2.0
To make something smaller in amount or size
201
3.7
To become less in size, importance, or value
181
2.8
Become less in amount or value
65
2.7
To make something smaller in amount or number
34
2.8
To make something smaller in amount or strength
21
4.2
Make something shorter by removing unimportant details
10
5.1
To make a list or group smaller by removing items over time
9
3.6
To make something shorter while keeping the important parts
8
7.0
To shorten something by cutting off a part, often the end
8
4.0
To make something smaller in size or amount
1
4.0
To make writing or speech shorter and clearer
1
7.5
Make something shorter in time or length while keeping its main parts
1
8.4
To make something smaller so it uses less space or time
To make something shorter in time or content
Make a book, play, or speech shorter by removing parts while keeping the main idea
Antonyms
How Short
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Shorten comes from the simple word short plus the ending -en, which means 'to make' or 'become', so shorten can mean to 'become short', as when the days get shorter in autumn.