as in to shorten
to make less in extent or duration
curtailed the school day because of the stormy weather
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Recent Examples of curtail
Well, to be clear, the Biden administration did take action in July of 2024 to try to curtail unlawful immigration.
—
CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025
But now as the country grapples with an acute backlog of cases waiting to be heard, the right to trial by jury is being curtailed, in what legal experts warn could lead to less fair rulings.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
This endears it to the White House, even though the current German government has sharply curtailed immigration.
—Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
Still, the loan provides vital cash for Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that without it, drone production would be severely curtailed.
—Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 19 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for curtail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curtail
shorten
Verb
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That allowed the Panthers to shorten the game and possess the ball for 10 minutes and 32 seconds longer than the Rams, whose defenders this week admitted to being knocked off the line of scrimmage this week by the Carolina run blockers.—
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More San Francisco businesses may have their operating hours shortened as two supervisors seek to expand the city's neighborhood store curfew.—
Cite this Entry
“Curtail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curtail. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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