raccourcir

Word: raccourcir

Language: French

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Meaning:

The verb raccourcir means "to shorten" in English. It involves making something shorter in length, duration, or size.

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Breakdown:

• Prefix: "ra-" (often an intensive or repetitive prefix)
• Root: "courc-" from court meaning "short"
• Suffix: "-ir" (indicates it is a verb in the infinitive form)

Literally, it means "to make short again" or "to shorten."

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Usage:

• To shorten something physically:
  • For example, to shorten a piece of clothing: raccourcir un pantalon — to shorten pants.
• To shorten duration or length of time:
  • Raccourcir un discours — to shorten a speech.
• To shorten text or speech:
  • Raccourcir un article — to shorten an article.

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Synonyms:

• abréger (to abbreviate, to shorten)
• rétrécir (to shrink, to reduce size, but more physical/measurable shrinking)
• raccourcir is most often used for length or duration.

Antonyms:

• allonger (to lengthen)
• prolonger (to extend, to prolong)
• élargir (to widen, though more about width than length)

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Additional Notes:

• Raccourcir is a regular -ir verb and conjugates accordingly.
• Often deals with more tangible shortening, whereas abréger can sometimes be more abstract (like making a text shorter).
• In everyday speech and writing, raccourcir is quite common for both tangible and abstract elements.