curtail
English · Thesaurus
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curtail
- /kɜːˈteɪl/ UK
- /kɚˈteɪl/ US
Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
Alteration of curtal, from Old French courtault (“which has been shortened”), itself from court (“short”) (from Latin curtus) + -ault
verb curtails · curtailing · curtailed
- To cut short the tail of (an animal). Curtailing horses procured long horse-hair.
-
To shorten or abridge the duration of; to bring an end to; to truncate.
When the audience grew restless, the speaker curtailed her speech.
Similar: abbreviate
-
To limit or restrict; to keep in check.
This is the rump of the C.L.C. branch to Southport Lord Street, which lost its passenger services beyond Aintree from January 7, 1952, whereupon the timetable between Gateacre and Aintree was greatly curtailed.
Similar: behedge
noun curtails
- A scroll termination, as of a step, etc.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: cut short, restrict, cut back, clip, curb, abridge, shorten, lower, shrink, downsize, suppress, confine, restrain, reduce, obstruct, limitation
Translations
Every language
verb cut short an animal's tail
| Español | acortar |
|---|---|
| Português | derrabar |
| Français | écourter |
| Deutsch | kupieren |
| Русский | укора́чивать ukoráčivatʹ, укороти́ть ukorotítʹ, обреза́ть obrezátʹ, обре́зать obrézatʹ |
verb shorten or abridge
| Español | acortar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 縮減 /缩减 suōjiǎn, 精簡 /精简 jīngjiǎn |
| Português | encurtar |
| Français | écourter, abréger |
| Deutsch | beschneiden, stutzen, verkürzen |
| Русский | сокраща́ть sokraščátʹ, сократи́ть sokratítʹ, уреза́ть urezátʹ, уре́зать urézatʹ |
| עברית | קִצֵּרקִצֵּר kitsér, צִמְצֵם tsimtsém |
verb limit or restrict
| 中文 | 限制 xiànzhì, 制約 /制约 zhìyuē |
|---|---|
| Português | limitar, restringir |
| Français | restreindre |
| Deutsch | beschränken, beschneiden, drosseln, kürzen |
| Русский | ограни́чивать ograníčivatʹ, ограни́чить ograníčitʹ |
| العربية | قَيَّدَ qayyada |
Talk about this word "curtail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/curtail. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. curtail. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/curtail "curtail." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/curtail.Cite this
@misc{curtail_2026,
title = {curtail},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/curtail},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
