Abridging

to shorten by omissions while retaining the basic contents:
to abridge a reference book.
to reduce or lessen in duration, scope, authority, etc.; diminish; curtail:
to abridge a visit; to abridge one’s freedom.
to deprive; cut off.
contemporary examples

if you did, you would see the text states that “congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech.”
sarah palin is perfect for ‘the view’ dean obeidallah july 14, 2014

historical examples

business men recognize its tremendous possibilities and advantageous help in saving time and abridging distance.
the american postal service louis melius

it was not codification but consolidation, not remoulding but abridging.
encyclopaedia britannica, 11th edition, volume 15, slice 5 various

hitherto physicians have most frequently been instrumental in abridging it.
the thousand and one days julia pardoe

if by aid of abridging, elucidating and arranging, we can get the reader engaged to peruse it patiently;—which seems doubtful.
history of friedrich ii. of prussia, volume iv. (of xxi.) thomas carlyle

it is, therefore, a thing most desirable to set up compound modes—short devices for abridging these.
the posthumous works of thomas de quincey, vol. ii (2 vols) thomas de quincey

they contrived, by abridging both rest and labour, to give him constant attendance.
robert falconer george macdonald

i take the liberty of abridging the story by omitting several details.
chaucer’s works, volume 3 (of 7) geoffrey chaucer

her work has mainly consisted in abridging these records, collected from so many different sources.
american prisoners of the revolution danske dandridge

the inst-tution of property, in abridging freedom, creates duties; and in furnishing security, establishes rights.
twentieth century socialism edmond kelly

verb (transitive)
to reduce the length of (a written work) by condensing or rewriting
to curtail; diminish
(archaic) to deprive of (privileges, rights, etc)
v.

c.1300, abreggen, “to make shorter, to condense,” from old french abregier “abridge, diminish, shorten,” from late latin abbreviare “make short” (see abbreviate). the sound development from latin -vi- to french -dg- is paralleled in -ssuage (from -ssuavidare) and deluge (from diluvium). related: abridged; abridging.