1. Shortened
   "the shortened rope was easier to use";
   - sawed-off [N. Amer], sawn-off [Brit]
    
2. Cut short in duration
   "her shortened life was clearly the result of smoking";
   - abbreviated, truncated
    
3. Shortened by or as if by means of parts that slide one within another or are crushed one into another
   "a miracle that anyone survived in the shortened cars";
   - telescoped
    
4. With parts removed
   "the drastically shortened film";
   - cut

1. Make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration
   "He shortened his trip due to illness"
    
2. Make short or shorter
   "shorten the skirt"; "shorten the rope by a few inches"
    
3. Become short or shorter
   "In winter, the days shorten"
    
4. Reduce in scope while retaining essential elements
   "The manuscript must be shortened";
   - abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, cut, contract, reduce
    
5. Edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
   "shorten a novel";
   - bowdlerize, bowdlerise [Brit], expurgate, castrate

See also: abridged, short

Type of: alter, bring down, change, come down, cut, cut back, cut down, decrease, dent, diminish, fall, go down, lessen, minify, modify, reduce, sink, trim, trim back, trim down

Antonym: lengthen

Encyclopedia: Shorten, George