What does abridging mean?
Abridging is the present participle and gerund of the verb abridge, meaning to shorten a text, speech, or work by cutting material while preserving its essential substance. An editor abridging a novel removes passages — subplots, digressions, repetitions — so that the core story remains intact in a more compact form. The word also carries an important figurative and legal sense: to curtail or diminish something intangible, most famously rights and freedoms. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits Congress from 'abridging the freedom of speech', giving the word a permanent place in American legal discourse. Abridging is formal in register, appearing chiefly in publishing, law, and academic writing rather than casual conversation. Its connotations are neutral when applied to texts but negative when applied to liberties, since curtailing a freedom implies taking something away. Related forms include abridge, abridged, and the noun abridgment.
Shortening a text or speech while retaining its essential meaning; curtailing or diminishing something such as a right or liberty.
"The committee spent months abridging the report into a readable executive summary."
In legal contexts, 'abridging' almost always refers to limiting rights or freedoms; in publishing, it refers to condensing texts.
The act or process of shortening a work or curtailing a right.
"The abridging of the classic took less than a week."
The gerund use is relatively rare; the noun 'abridgment' is the standard nominal form.
The First Amendment forbids Congress from 'abridging' free speech — which is why this quiet little verb sits at the heart of America's most famous sentence.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of abridging
Abridge entered English in the Middle English period, borrowed from Old French 'abregier', which itself derives from Late Latin 'abbreviare', meaning to shorten. The ultimate root is Latin 'brevis', meaning short — the same root that gives us brief, brevity, and abbreviate. The spelling with '-dge' reflects Middle English sound changes. Cognates include the doublet 'abbreviate', which came through Latin directly rather than via French.
Related word forms
How abridging is actually used
As a form of 'abridge', the word appears most often in formal, legal, and publishing contexts. The sense of curtailing rights is strongly associated with legal language, especially the First Amendment phrase 'abridging the freedom of speech'. The gerund ('the abridging of texts') sounds somewhat formal; everyday speech usually prefers 'cutting down' or 'shortening'.
Easily confused with abridging
Eliding means omitting or slurring over sounds or words entirely, whereas abridging means condensing a whole work while retaining its substance.
Editing covers all revision of a text for content, style, or accuracy, while abridging specifically means making it shorter.