Meaning & use
abridge
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make a book, article, speech, or other long work shorter by removing less important parts while keeping the main content.
Grammar: Takes an object: abridge a novel; compare abbreviate, which shortens words or phrases.
Patterns
- abridge something
- abridge something for someone
- abridge something to a length
The publisher abridged the novel for younger readers.
We abridged the lecture so it would fit the evening program.
verbtransitivelegalformal
To reduce or limit a right, freedom, or legal power in a formal or official way.
Grammar: Takes an object and is common in legal texts: abridge voting rights.
Patterns
- abridge someone's rights
- abridge freedom of something
- abridge the right to something
The court asked whether the rule abridged free speech.
A state may not abridge the right to vote without strong reasons.
Word forms
| third person singular | abridges |
|---|---|
| past tense | abridged |
| past participle | abridged |
| -ing form | abridging |
Common combinations
- abridge a novel
- They had to abridge a novel of over 600 pages.
- abridge a text
- The teacher asked us to abridge a text without changing its argument.
- abridged edition
- An abridged edition is often used in language classes.
- abridge rights
- Critics said the policy could abridge workers' rights.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shorten
- More general; can refer to time, distance, or length, not only edited works.
- condense
- Emphasizes making content tighter and denser, often while keeping the essential meaning.
- truncate
- Suggests cutting something off, often abruptly or at a fixed point, rather than carefully selecting material.
- curtail
- Used mainly for reducing rights, freedoms, or activities, not for editing books or speeches.
Opposites
Word family
- abridged adjective
- Shortened while keeping the main content.
- abridgment noun
- The act of abridging or a shortened version; British also abridgement.
- abridger noun
- A person who abridges a text, used mainly in publishing.
Commonly confused: abridge or abbreviate? abridge or bridge?
abridge vs abbreviate
Abbreviate shortens individual words or phrases, such as doctor to Dr.; abridge shortens whole works.
abridge vs bridge
Abridge sounds similar but is not related to bridge; it comes from ideas of shortening, not connecting.
Practice
To fit the radio slot, the producers ___ the interview.
Choose one answer.
Abridge fits because a whole interview is shortened while keeping the main content. Abbreviate would shorten individual words or phrases; broadened and expanded suggest the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “abridge”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.