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When something bad or painful abates, it becomes less strong or severe.
If you abridge a book or play you make it shorter by making cuts to the original.
An addendum is an additional section added to the end of a book, document, or speech to give more information.
To aggrandize someone means to make him seem richer, more powerful, and more important than he really is.
When you append something to something else, you attach or add it, such as extra information at the end of a book.
To augment something is to increase its value or effectiveness by adding something to it.
If you describe something as austere you might approve of its simple and plain style.
To bowdlerize a book, play, or other literary work is to remove parts of it that are considered indecent or unsuitable for family reading.
When a substance contracts, it becomes smaller or shrinks in size.
If you cull items or information you gather them from a number of different places in a selective manner.
If you curtail something you reduce or limit it.
One defoliates a tree or plant by removing its leaves, usually by applying a chemical agent.
A diminution of something is a reduction in the size, number, or importance of it.
To efface something is to erase or remove it completely from recognition or memory.
If something engenders a particular feeling or attitude, it causes that condition.
When you excise something you remove it by cutting it out.
To expurgate part of a book, play, or other text is to remove parts of it before publishing because they are considered harmful or offensive.
If you extirpate something you completely destroy it because it is unpleasant or unwanted.
Gestation is the process by which a new idea, plan, or piece of work develops in your mind.
An infusion of something is the pouring in of it or the introduction of it so as to fill something else up.
Something that is luxuriant, like plants or hair, is growing well and is very healthy.
If something proliferates, it grows and spreads quickly so that there is a great abundance of it.
If governments, companies, or other institutions retrench they reduce costs and/or decrease the amount that they spend in order to save money.
If you truncate something, you make it shorter or quicker by removing or cutting off part of it.
Verb
pare
pair
Context
In a troubled economy, many companies choose to pare down their work force by reducing their number of employees. By trimming staff, they are able to pare down or lessen costs and thus save extra money. As a result, millions of people cut back on or pare down their expenses as well, which in turn denies companies the revenue they need to hold onto their employees.
Quiz:Try again!
What does it mean to pare something?
Pear Repair? "No, Jimmy, you cannot repair that pear once you’ve pared or trimmed its peel ... and no, not even glue will work!"
Examples
As a woman gets more active and pares away more excess body fat, she'll transition to other clothing, which may end up being size 12-14.
—WebMD
As the networks pare travel expenses, technicians aren’t being given enough time to set up, which is one reason that so many telecasts contain glitches.
—Sports Illustrated
The Pentagon could potentially pare down its ballistic missile defense arsenal from the six different interceptors in service or development to just the Standard.
—Wired
Vermont Republican James Jeffords countered a bipartisan proposal to pare dairy supports to the Senate levels by offering an amendment that would increase subsidies by 2.5 billion over four years.
—TIME
When you pare an apple you “prepare” it for eating or for use in a recipe by cutting away the peel.
Word Theater
Using Chef Knives Some instruction on effectively using a paring knife to pare an apple.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
