different between shrink vs abbreviate

English

Etymology

From Middle English shrinken, from Old English s?rincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwan?. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?????k/
• Rhymes: -??k

Verb

shrink (third-person singular simple present shrinks, present participle shrinking, simple past shrank or shrunk, past participle shrunk or shrunken)

1. (transitive) To cause to become smaller.
2. (intransitive) To become smaller; to contract.
   • And shrink like parchment in consuming fire.

   • 2018, VOA Learning English > China's Melting Glacier Brings Visitors, Adds to Climate Concerns

     Since 1982, it has shrunk by 250 meters.

3. (intransitive) To cower or flinch.

4. (transitive) To draw back; to withdraw.
5. (intransitive, figuratively) To withdraw or retire, as from danger.
   • 1881, Benjamin Jowett (translator), Thucydides

     They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task.

6. (intransitive) To move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.

Synonyms

• (avoid an unwanted task): funk, shirk
• (withdraw or retire, as from danger): shrink back, retreat

Antonyms

• (to cause to become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch
• (become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

shrink (plural shrinks)

1. Shrinkage; contraction; recoil.
2. (slang, sometimes derogatory) A psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

   Synonym: head-shrinker

3. (uncountable, business) Loss of inventory, for example due to shoplifting or not selling items before their expiration date.
   • 2011, Charles Sennewald & John Christman, Retail Crime, Security, and Loss Prevention: An Encyclopedic Reference, p. 227:

     Assuming the retailer's shrink is average or below, and the owner is comfortable with the level of shrink, perhaps nothing more need be done except to maintain vigilance and to monitor the shrink for signs of emerging problems.

Usage notes

• (therapist): The slang sense was originally pejorative, expressing a distrust of practitioners in the field. It is now not as belittling or trivializing.

Translations

References

• shrink at OneLook Dictionary Search
• shrink in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

English

Etymology 1

Either from Middle English abbreviaten, from Latin abbrevi?tus, perfect passive participle of abbrevi? (“to shorten”), formed from ad + brevi? (“shorten”), from brevis (“short”) or back-formation from abbreviation. Doublet of abridge.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?.?b?i?.vi.e?t/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??b?i.vi.e?t/

Verb

abbreviate (third-person singular simple present abbreviates, present participle abbreviating, simple past and past participle abbreviated)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To shorten by omitting parts or details. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century.]
2. (obsolete, intransitive) To speak or write in a brief manner. [Attested from the late 16^th century until the early 17^th century.]
3. (transitive) To make shorter; to shorten (in time); to abridge; to shorten by ending sooner than planned. [First attested from around (1350 to 1470).]
4. (transitive) To reduce a word or phrase by means of contraction or omission to a shorter recognizable form. [First attested in the late 16^th century.]
5. (transitive, mathematics) To reduce to lower terms, as a fraction.

Synonyms

• abridge
• compress
• condense
• contract
• curtail
• epitomize
• reduce
• shorten

Antonyms

• amplify
• dilate
• elongate
• enlarge
• expand
• expatiate
• extend
• lengthen
• produce
• prolong
• stretch

Related terms

• abbreviation
• abbreviator

Translations

Etymology 2

• From Late Latin abbrevi?tus, perfect passive participle of abbrevi? (“abbreviate”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /??b?i.vi.?t/, /??b?i.vi.e?t/

Adjective

abbreviate (comparative more abbreviate, superlative most abbreviate)

1. (obsolete) Abbreviated; abridged; shortened. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the late 17^th century]
2. (biology) Having one part relatively shorter than another or than the ordinary type. [First attested in the mid 19^th century.]

Translations

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??b?i.vi.e?t/

Noun

abbreviate (plural abbreviates)

1. (obsolete) An abridgment. [Mid 16^th century.]

Translations

References

Interlingua

Adjective

abbreviate (comparative plus abbreviate, superlative le plus abbreviate)

1. Being abbreviated.

Italian

Verb

abbreviate

1. second-person plural present of abbreviare
2. second-person plural imperative of abbreviare

Anagrams

• abbeverati

Latin

Verb

abbrevi?te

1. second-person plural present active imperative of abbrevi?

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??bri?v??t/

Noun

abbreviate (plural abbreviates)

1. (law) an abstract, an abridgement

Usage notes

• Used in adjudication and sequestration.