Verb
- 1. contract, undertake, promise, assure
- usage: enter into a contractual arrangement
- 2. sign, contract, sign on, sign up, hire, engage, employ
- usage: engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season"
- 3. compress, constrict, squeeze, compact, contract, press, tighten
- usage: squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle"
- 4. contract, take, get, sicken, come down
- usage: be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness; "He got AIDS"; "She came down with pneumonia"; "She took a chill"
- 5. shrink, contract, decrease, diminish, lessen, fall
- usage: become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank"
- 6. contract, shrink, reduce
- usage: make smaller; "The heat contracted the woollen garment"
- 7. condense, concentrate, contract, change, alter, modify
- usage: compress or concentrate; "Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan"
- 8. narrow, contract, change
- usage: make or become more narrow or restricted; "The selection was narrowed"; "The road narrowed"
- 9. abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce, decrease, lessen, minify
- usage: reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened"
Adjective
- 1. contracted (vs. expanded), contractile
- usage: reduced in size or pulled together; "the contracted pupils of her eyes"
WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University.
All rights reserved.Definition and meaning of contracted (Dictionary)