An obstetrician estimates the progress of childbirth by measuring the time between each contraction.
Source: tatoeba (6393212)
Contraction
/kənˈtɹækʃn̩/
Synonyms for "contraction" (113 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (23)
Strong matches (34)
Related words (56)
Noun(22 words)
more contractedmuscle actionmuscle contractionmuscle contractionsmuscular contractionphonetic shorteningrecessionrecessionalsrecessionsreductionretrenchingromanian a comprimashort form spellingshorteningshrinkingshrivellingslumpssound reductionspasmthroes
Pronoun(1 words)
Verb(1 words)
won't
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: abatement, abbreviation, abridgment, alleviation, apocope.
- Sentence evidence is available for contraction, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from moby, opengloss, derived_reverse, wordnet, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "contraction".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "contraction"
Keep "contraction" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "contraction" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "contraction", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "contraction" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
15 entriesdecreasediminutiongrammar conceptlanguagelanguage featurelinguisticsphonologyreductionshorteningshrinkageshrinkingspeech processstep-downwordword form
More specific
7 entriesCollocations
5 entriescontraction rulenegative contractionspronoun contractionteach contractionsuse contractions
Inflections
1 entriesDerivations
2 entriesAntonyms
1 entriesTranslations
46 translations across 28 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- verkleining noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Bulgarian
2 entries- свиване noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- скъсяване noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Burmese
2 entries- ကျုံ့ခြင်း noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- ချုံ့ခြင်း noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Catalan
1 entries- contracció noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Chinese Mandarin
1 entries- 收縮 /收缩 noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Finnish
1 entries- supistuminen noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
French
1 entries- contraction noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
German
4 entries- Abnahme noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- Abnehmen noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- Kontraktion noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- Minderung noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Hebrew
1 entries- התכווצות noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Hungarian
2 entries- összehúzás noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- összehúzódás noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Indonesian
1 entries- kontraksi noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Italian
1 entries- contrazione noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Japanese
1 entries- 収縮 noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Korean
1 entries- 단축 noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- кыскаруу noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Latin
1 entries- contractiō noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Macedonian
1 entries- скрату́вање noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Norwegian
2 entries- forminskning noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- kontraksjon noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Occitan
1 entries- contraccion noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Portuguese
1 entries- contração noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Romanian
1 entries- contracție noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Russian
2 entries- сжа́тие noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- сокраще́ние noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Spanish
1 entries- contracción noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Swedish
2 entries- kontraktion noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
- minskning noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Tagalog
1 entries- daginsin noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Tajik
1 entries- дардгирӣ noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Thai
1 entries- การหดตัว noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Uzbek
1 entries- qisqarish noun ((sometimes reversible) contracting or reduction in length, scope, size, or volume)
Sample sentences
16 total sentences available.
"Can't" is a contraction of "can" and "not."
Source: tatoeba (7697594)
In addition to the manufacturing data, China's non-manufacturing services sector activity also posted its deepest contraction on record, dropping to 29.6 from 54.1 in January, according to another survey by China's NBS.
Source: tatoeba (8590454)
Investment bank Goldman Sachs forecast no U.S. economic growth for the first quarter of this year and an annualized rate contraction of 5% in the second quarter.
Source: tatoeba (8618402)
Showing 4 of 16 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "contraction"?
Closest matches include abatement, abbreviation, abridgment, alleviation, apocope.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "contraction"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.