as in shortens
to make less in extent or duration
curtailed the school day because of the stormy weather
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Recent Examples of curtails
Advertisement The court's decision not only curtails a policy Trump has repeatedly credited with strengthening American leverage abroad, but also carries major financial and legal consequences.
—
Nik Popli, Time, 20 Feb. 2026
Think of this as the pessimistic, narrower option, where the greenhouse effect curtails the zone's inner edge and the loss of carbon dioxide from a planetary atmosphere marks its outer edge.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Feb. 2026
The Postal Service™ curtails delivery only after careful consideration, and only as a last resort.
—Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 24 Jan. 2026
The connection of these celestial entities brightens our drive, but curtails our intuition.
—Lisa Stardust, Refinery29, 16 Jan. 2026
Trump formalized the policy in a sweeping executive order signed Wednesday that sharply curtails how defense contractors can use profits and compensate executives.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026
Such a reading of the law at the center of the case could provide Trump an opening -- along with other tariffs that have not been challenged in court -- to continue his global-trotting mission to reshape trade imbalances, even if the high court curtails his broad tariff power.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2025
Where To Stay in Martin County With a strict ban on buildings over four stories, the Treasure Coast curtails the kind of over development that can choke out some Florida beach towns.
—Kelsey Glennon, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2025
Equity grading, which curtails teacher discretion, should be junked.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for curtails
shortens
Verb
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The urgency has grown as his career runway shortens.—
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The new plan shortens the time between missions and redraws the map of which launches will achieve various program milestones.—
Cite this Entry
“Curtails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/curtails. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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