shorten

v., -ened, -en·ing, -ens.

v.tr.

1. To make short or shorter.
2. Nautical. To take in (a sail) so that less canvas is exposed to the wind, thereby reducing speed.
3. To reduce in force, efficacy, or intensity.
4. To add shortening to (dough) so as to make flaky.

v.intr.
To become short or shorter.

shortener short'en·er n.

SYNONYMS   shorten, abbreviate, abridge, curtail, truncate. These verbs mean to diminish the length, duration, or extent of by or as if by cutting: vices that will shorten your life; abbreviated the speech; abridging the citizens' rights; curtailed their visit; truncated the conversation.
ANTONYM  lengthen

verb

To make short or shorter the duration or extent of: abbreviate, abridge, condense, curtail, reduce. See increase/decrease, long/short.

v

Definition: diminish, decrease
Antonyms: amplify, elongate, enlarge, grow, increase, lengthen

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v. reduce the amount of (sail) exposed to the wind.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

IN BRIEF: To cut in length, make less long.

Do not shorten the morning by getting up late; look upon it as the quintessence of life, as to a certain extent sacred. — Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), German philosopher.

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - forkorte, afkorte, lægge op
v. intr. - blive kortere

idioms:

• shorten the odds    mindske oddsene

Nederlands (Dutch)
korter maken, afkorten, bekorten

Français (French)
v. tr. - abréger, raccourcir, réduire, alléger
v. intr. - raccourcir, diminuer

idioms:

• shorten the odds    affaiblir la cote

Deutsch (German)
v. - kürzen, reduzieren

idioms:

• shorten the odds    die Wahrscheinlichkeit erhöhen, die Gewinnchance verringern

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - βραχύνω, περικόπτω, λιγοστεύω

idioms:

• shorten the odds    βελτιώνω τις πιθανότητες

Italiano (Italian)
accorciare

idioms:

• shorten the odds    ridurre il rischio

Português (Portuguese)
v. - encurtar, abreviar, reduzir

idioms:

• shorten the odds    diminuir a vantagem

Русский (Russian)
сокращать, уменьшать, добавлять в тесто жир для рассыпчатости, перестать пеленать

idioms:

• shorten the odds    увеличить вероятность какого-л. события

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - abreviar, acortar, reducir, disminuir, limitar, impedir
v. intr. - acortarse, disminuirse, decrecer, encogerse, abreviarse

idioms:

• shorten the odds    reducir las probabilidades

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förkorta, göra kortare, minska, korta, lägga upp

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
弄短, 减少, 缩短, 变短, 变小

idioms:

• shorten the odds    消除差别

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 弄短, 減少, 縮短
v. intr. - 變短, 縮短, 變小

idioms:

• shorten the odds    消除差別

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 짧게 하다, 짧게 보이다, 적게 하다
v. intr. - 짧아지다, (승산이) 적어지다, 감소하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 短くする, 短縮する, さくさくさせる

idioms:

• shorten the odds    掛け率を少差にする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يقلل, يخفض, يقصر‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮קיצר‬
v. intr. - ‮התקצר‬

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