abridge

Advancedzipf 1.95

Pronunciation

/əˈbrɪdʒ/(uh-BRIJ)

Part of speech

verbformal

Chinese

删节；缩短（保留主要内容的精简版）

Definition

To shorten a book, speech, or other work without losing the essential meaning.

Word family

  • abridgment/əˈbrɪdʒmənt/(n)缩写版
  • abridged/əˈbrɪdʒd/(adj)缩减的
  • unabridged/ˌʌnəˈbrɪdʒd/(adj)未删节的

Collocations

  • abridged version
  • abridge a novel
  • heavily abridged
  • unabridged edition

Examples

  1. 1.The teacher assigned the abridged version of War and Peace. (shortened edition)
  2. 2.The speech was abridged for the television broadcast. (cut down)

Synonyms

  • condense/kənˈdɛns/— make more compact
  • summarize/ˈsʌməraɪz/— give the main points
  • truncate/trʌŋˈkeɪt/— cut off the end

Etymology

from Old French "abregier" = to shorten — from Latin "abbreviare" (same root as "abbreviate")