abbreviate
6 synonyms and 6 antonyms for abbreviate, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To make something shorter by leaving out some parts.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. verb
To make something shorter by leaving out some parts.
Opposites
4. verb
To shorten a word or phrase into a shorter form that people can still recognise.
“Bovine spongiform encephalopathy is more commonly known by its abbreviated form BSE.”
Opposites
Etymology
From Middle English abbreviaten, from abbreviat(e) (“abbreviated”, used as the participle of abbreviaten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin abbreviātus, perfect passive participle of abbreviō (“to shorten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), formed from ab- + breviō (“to shorten”), from brevis (“short”)....
Full origin of abbreviate →