CONTRACTING Synonyms

• cut down on; make a reduction in

• make less complex

• bring to humbler or weaker state or condition

• simplify the form of a mathematical equation of expression by substituting one term for another

• lower in grade or rank or force somebody into an undignified situation

• be the essential element

• reduce in size; reduce physically

• lessen and make more modest

• make smaller

• to remove oxygen from a compound, or cause to react with hydrogen or form a hydride, or to undergo an increase in the number of electrons

• narrow or limit

• put down by force or intimidation

• undergo meiosis

• reposition (a broken bone after surgery) back to its normal site

• destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it

• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

• be cooked until very little liquid is left

• cook until very little liquid is left

• lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture

• take off weight

• make shorter than originally intended; reduce or retrench in length or duration

• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

• make short or shorter

• become short or shorter

• edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate

• a physician who specializes in psychiatry

• wither, as with a loss of moisture

• draw back, as with fear or pain

• reduce in size; reduce physically

• become smaller or draw together

• decrease in size, range, or extent

• make less active or intense

• become less in amount or intensity

• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

• shorten

• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

• lessen, diminish, or curtail

• a drawback or difficulty that is not readily evident

• the quantity that was caught

• a person regarded as a good matrimonial prospect

• anything that is caught (especially if it is worth catching)

• a break or check in the voice (usually a sign of strong emotion)

• a restraint that checks the motion of something

• a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window

• a cooperative game in which a ball is passed back and forth

• the act of catching an object with the hands

• the act of apprehending (especially apprehending a criminal)

• discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state

• perceive with the senses quickly, suddenly, or momentarily

• reach with a blow or hit in a particular spot

• take hold of so as to seize or restrain or stop the motion of

• succeed in catching or seizing, especially after a chase

• to hook or entangle

• attract and fix

• capture as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping

• reach in time

• get or regain something necessary, usually quickly or briefly

• catch up with and possibly overtake

• be struck or affected by

• check oneself during an action

• hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers

• see or watch

• cause to become accidentally or suddenly caught, ensnared, or entangled

• detect a blunder or misstep

• grasp with the mind or develop an understanding of

• come down with

• start burning

• perceive by hearing

• suffer from the receipt of

• attract; cause to be enamored

• apprehend and reproduce accurately

• take in and retain

• spread or be communicated

• be the catcher

• become aware of

• delay or hold up; prevent from proceeding on schedule or as planned

• closely and firmly united or packed together

• a small cosmetics case with a mirror; to be carried in a woman's purse

• a signed written agreement between two or more parties (nations) to perform some action

• a small and economical car

• having a short and solid form or stature

• briefly giving the gist of something

• have the property of being packable or of compacting easily

• compress into a wad

• make more compact by or as if by pressing

• squeeze or press together

• a cloth pad or dressing (with or without medication) applied firmly to some part of the body (to relieve discomfort or reduce fever)

• make more compact by or as if by pressing

• squeeze or press together

• the desired mineral that is left after impurities have been removed from mined ore

• a concentrated form of a foodstuff; the bulk is reduced by removing water

• a concentrated example of something

• make denser, stronger, or purer

• direct one's attention on something

• make central

• make more concise

• draw together or meet in one common center

• compress or concentrate

• be cooked until very little liquid is left

• cook until very little liquid is left

• undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops

• make more concise

• remove water from

• cause a gas or vapor to change into a liquid

• become more compact or concentrated

• develop due to condensation

• compress or concentrate

• squeeze or press together

• become tight or as if tight

• separated into parts or laid open or penetrated with a sharp edge or instrument

• fashioned or shaped by cutting

• made neat and tidy by trimming

• (used of grass or vegetation) cut down with a hand implement or machine

• (of pages of a book) having the folds of the leaves trimmed or slit

• a share of the profits

• (film) an immediate transition from one shot to the next

• a trench resembling a furrow that was made by erosion or excavation

• a step on some scale

• a wound made by cutting

• a piece of meat that has been cut from an animal carcass

• a remark capable of wounding mentally

• a distinct selection of music from a recording or a compact disc

• the omission that is made when an editorial change shortens a written passage

• the style in which a garment is cut

• a canal made by erosion or excavation

• a refusal to recognize someone you know

• in baseball; a batter's attempt to hit a pitched ball

• (sports) a stroke that puts reverse spin on the ball

• the division of a deck of cards before dealing

• the act of penetrating or opening open with a sharp edge

• the act of cutting something into parts

• the act of shortening something by chopping off the ends

• the act of reducing the amount or number

• an unexcused absence from class

• with parts removed

• (of a male animal) having the testicles removed

• (used of rates or prices) reduced usually sharply

• mixed with water

• separate with or as if with an instrument

• cut down on; make a reduction in

• turn sharply; change direction abruptly

• make an incision or separation

• discharge from a group

• form by probing, penetrating, or digging

• style and tailor in a certain fashion

• hit (a ball) with a spin so that it turns in the opposite direction

• make out and issue

• cut and assemble the components of

• intentionally fail to attend

• be able to manage or manage successfully

• give the appearance or impression of

• move (one's fist)

• pass directly and often in haste

• pass through or across

• make an abrupt change of image or sound

• stop filming

• make a recording of

• record a performance on (a medium)

• create by duplicating data

• form or shape by cutting or incising

• perform or carry out

• function as a cutting instrument

• allow incision or separation

• divide a deck of cards at random into two parts to make selection difficult

• cause to stop operating by disengaging a switch

• reap or harvest

• fell by sawing; hew

• penetrate injuriously

• refuse to acknowledge

• shorten as if by severing the edges or ends of

• weed out unwanted or unnecessary things

• dissolve by breaking down the fat of

• have a reducing effect

• cease, stop

• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

• lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture

• have grow through the gums

• grow through the gums

• cut off the testicles (of male animals such as horses)

• a statement that is emphatic and explicit (spoken or written)

• (law) unsworn statement that can be admitted in evidence in a legal transaction

• a statement of taxable goods or of dutiable properties

• (contract bridge) the highest bid becomes the contract setting the number of tricks that the bidder must make

• a formal public statement

• a formal expression by a meeting; agreed to by a vote

• a change downward

• a process of becoming smaller or shorter

• the amount by which something decreases

• the act of decreasing or reducing something

• decrease in size, extent, or range

• make become smaller

• reduce in scope while retaining essential elements

• shorten lines in a drawing so as to create an illusion of depth

• decrease in size, extent, or range

• make become smaller

• wear off or die down

• not wide

• lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view

• very limited in degree

• a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water

• limited in extent or scope

• characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination

• make or become more narrow or restricted

• define clearly

• become more focused on an area of activity or field of study

• become tight or as if tight

• the state of demanding notice or attention

• the print media responsible for gathering and publishing news in the form of newspapers or magazines

• a machine used for printing

• a dense crowd of people

• a tall piece of furniture that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks for hanging clothes

• clamp to prevent wooden rackets from warping when not in use

• any machine that exerts pressure to form or shape or cut materials or extract liquids or compress solids

• a weightlift in which the barbell is lifted to shoulder height and then smoothly lifted overhead

• the act of pressing; the exertion of pressure

• exert pressure or force to or upon

• force or impel in an indicated direction

• to be oppressive or burdensome

• place between two surfaces and apply weight or pressure

• squeeze or press together

• crowd closely

• create by pressing

• be urgent

• exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person; be an advocate for

• press from a plastic

• make strenuous pushing movements during birth to expel the baby

• press and smooth with a heated iron

• lift weights

• ask for or request earnestly