Search

shortened; made briefer:
the rain led to an abbreviated picnic.
(of clothing) scanty; barely covering the body:
an abbreviated bathing suit.
const-tuting a shorter or smaller version of:
the large car was an abbreviated limousine.
to shorten (a word or phrase) by omitting letters, subst-tuting shorter forms, etc., so that the shortened form can represent the whole word or phrase, as ft. for foot, ab. for about, r.i. for rhode island, nw for northwest, or xn for christian.
to reduce (anything) in length, duration, etc.; make briefer:
to abbreviate a speech.
to use .
contemporary examples

pallone found this unconscionable, particularly in an abbreviated two-month campaign.
frank pallone’s uphill fight ben jacobs august 4, 2013

not that the government was admitting any of this during its abbreviated and often delayed press briefings.
gun-toting ranchers defeat feds john l. smith april 15, 2014

historical examples

peter morvyn in 1558 translated an abbreviated version into english, and edition after edition was called for.
encyclopaedia britannica, 11th edition, volume 15, slice 5 various

many of the words were abbreviated, and there were some arbitrary signs.
beauty and the beast, and tales from home bayard taylor

besides, no one of them ever spoke to tory without using her abbreviated t-tle.
the girl scouts in beechwood forest margaret vandercook

his diary was within reach, and he thought over his abbreviated week-end.
the education of eric lane stephen mckenna

the overnight visitor’s wife appeared from the house in abbreviated skirts, and wearing formidable shin-guards.
mr. britling sees it through h. g. wells

the headings of table 18 have been abbreviated for clarity on small screens.
the toxicity of caffein william salant

he was a big man, with a big face, clean shaven except for a pair of abbreviated side whiskers.
the squire’s daughter archibald marshall

in subsequent editions the t-tle was abbreviated to kreuter bch.
herbals, their origin and evolution agnes arber

verb (transitive)
to shorten (a word or phrase) by contraction or omission of some letters or words
to shorten (a speech or piece of writing) by omitting sections, paraphrasing, etc
to cut short
v.

mid-15c., from latin abbreviatus, past participle of abbreviare “to shorten” (see abbreviation). also sometimes 15c. abbrevy, from middle french abrevier (14c.), from latin abbreviare. related: abbreviated; abbreviating.