abridged

American  

[uh-brijd] / əˈbrɪdʒd /

adjective

1. (of a book, document, presentation, etc.) shortened by omitting less important parts while retaining the basic content.

   I didn't realize it was an abridged audiobook until I was surprised by how fast it was over.

2. reduced or lessened in duration, scope, authority, etc.; diminished or curtailed.

   Any time anyone's opportunity to vote is hampered, we need to do whatever we can to see that those abridged rights are faced, challenged, and changed.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of abridge.

Etymology

Origin of abridged

abridge ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

In 1991, Knopf published an abridged version of the journals with the Cheever family’s assistance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

This followed a 13-part, 13-hour series—Vietnam: A Television History—that premiered on PBS over 30 years earlier, in 1983, before being rebroadcast in abridged form on public television’s American Experience in 1997.

From Slate • Apr. 30, 2025

“Article V: A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.”

From Salon • Mar. 30, 2025

Dunthorne had access to the German original, about 1,800 typewritten pages, as well as to a translated, abridged version distributed to family members.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2025

I will paint for him not only the visible universe, but all that he can conceive of nature’s immensity in the womb of this abridged atom.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

• deficient
• fragmentary
• inadequate
• insufficient
• lacking
• partial
• sketchy