condense
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to make more dense or compact; reduce the volume or extent of; concentrate.
- Synonyms:
- consolidate, compress
- Antonyms:
- expand
-
to reduce to a shorter form; abridge.
Condense your answer into a few words.
- Synonyms:
- abbreviate, abstract, epitomize, digest
-
to reduce to another and denser form, as a gas or vapor to a liquid or solid state.
verb (used without object)
-
to become denser or more compact or concentrated.
-
to reduce a book, speech, statement, or the like, to a shorter form.
-
to become liquid or solid, as a gas or vapor.
The steam condensed into droplets.
verb
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(tr) to increase the density of; compress
-
to reduce or be reduced in volume or size; make or become more compact
-
to change or cause to change from a gaseous to a liquid or solid state
-
chem to undergo or cause to undergo condensation
Synonym Usage
See contract.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
condensabilitynoun
-
overcondenseverb
-
precondenseverb
-
recondenseverb
-
condensableadjective
-
uncondensingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
condensesimple
-
condensessimple
-
have condensedperfect
-
has condensedperfect
-
am condensingprogressive
-
are condensingprogressive
-
is condensingprogressive
-
have been condensingperfect progressive
-
has been condensingperfect progressive
Past
-
condensedsimple
-
had condensedperfect
-
was condensingprogressive
-
were condensingprogressive
-
had been condensingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of condense
First recorded in 1475–85; from Middle French condenser, from Latin condēnsāre, from con- con- + dēnsāre “to thicken,” verb derivative of dēnsus dense
Explanation
When you condense something, you cut it down and trim it. You may love every word of your 1000-page novel, but you'll have to condense the plot into a 2-page summary for your editor. When you condense something, you make it smaller and more compact. If you condense your wardrobe, you get rid things and keep only what you wear most. When a gas or vapor turns to liquid, it condenses. When you take a long, hot shower, the steam condenses in your bathroom, your mirror clouds up, and everything gets damp. Condense comes from Latin con-, “completely” and densus, “thick, dense."
Vocabulary lists containing condense
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The results indicate that fallout formation depends not only on when different elements condense, but also on how they chemically interact with one another as temperatures drop.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2026
Thomas’s style of speaking, in fact, resembles poetry, with rapid juxtapositions of images and a tendency to condense memories from different time periods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Teams would think, if you can condense play in their areas, you can control them - and if it goes over to another part of the pitch, you can cope with it.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026
"It can't create rain where there is no moisture in the air, but it just 'forces' some of the water to condense in one location rather than another," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2025
As one, the buzzing cloud seemed to constrict and condense, tighten into a knot of noise, a swarm of wings.
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
As the air rises, it cools and the water vapour condenses into a cloud.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Management sees a broader market” once the company condenses its bulky, rack-mounted systems into smaller chips in a few years, he wrote.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Ms. Bohman condenses decades into this brief, potent book, jumping from Hanna’s disoriented youth to her success as a painter of dark mountain scenes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
They found that this process occurs through phase separation, a phenomenon similar to oil droplets forming in water, and they believe it reflects how chromatin condenses inside living cells.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2025
In front of me, the sheet of red light collects and condenses into an orb of golden Obayifo spirit.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The simulated gas moved and condensed in ways that closely resembled the observed system.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
Readers of Mr. Stannard’s biography will find much of the material in “Like a Cat Loves a Bird” familiar, albeit presented in a highly condensed form.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The tale of Henry and Carlos is outlined in condensed lyrical strokes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
She later returned to play out a condensed set.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
I asked, because there’s nothing better than sweet Cuban coffee with warm condensed milk in the morning.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
The Ombudsman also found the commission "limited the possibility of its departments to provide meaningful input" by condensing internal consultations into "less than 24 hours over a weekend".
From Barron's ● Nov. 27, 2025
A little more condensing would have been welcome.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
For Kelly Burton, a mental health nurse from Crewe, condensing her hours into a four-day week since July has given her “perfect work-life balance”.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2024
Elements that would form rocks on Earth melt and evaporate here, before condensing on the slightly cooler night side, creating clouds of iron that drip molten iron rain.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 5, 2024
Also, I'll lose half a liter of water per day to breathing until the humidity in the Hab reaches its maximum and water starts condensing on every surface.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
