Contraction

Noun

 * 1) A reversible reduction in size.
 * 2)  A period of economic decline or negative growth.
 * 3)  A shortening of a muscle when it is used.
 * 4)  A strong and often painful shortening of the uterine muscles prior to or during childbirth.
 * 5)  A shortened word or phrase, with the missing letters represented by an apostrophe.
 * 6)  Contracting a disease.
 * 7)  Syncope, the loss of sounds from within a word.
 * 8) The acquisition of something, generally negative.
 * 9)  A distinct stage of wound healing, wherein the wound edges are gradually pulled together.

Adjectives for Contraction
muscular; inevitable; continuous; sharp; deep; nervous; concentric.

Verbs for Contraction
allow for—; produce—; regulate—; tend toward—; —abbreviates; —apostrophizes; —condenses;  —confines;   —diminishes; —draws; —hampers; —lames; —limits, —narrows; —reduces; —restricts; —shortens; —shrinks.

Antonyms for Contraction
expansion; dilatation

Derived terms
contractional; contractionary

Related terms
contract; contractation; contractive

Thesaurus
abbreviation, abridgment, alleviation, apocope, aposiopesis, attenuation, brachygraphy, clipping, coarctation, constriction, crasis, cutting, dampening, damping, decrease, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, depreciation, depression, diminishment, diminution, dying, dying off, elision, ellipsis, extenuation, fade-out, languishment, lessening, letup, lowering, miniaturization, mitigation, narrowing, phonography, pruning, reduction, relaxation, sagging, scaling down, shortening, shorthand, simplicity, stenography, stricture, subtraction, syncope, syneresis, tachygraphy, taper, tapering, truncation, weakening

Etymology
From contractio:.

Pronunciation

 * , {{SAMPA|/"kQn.tr{k.S@n/}} ;, {{SAMPA|/k@n"tr{k.S@n/}}
 * , {{SAMPA|/k@n"tr{k.S@n/}}

Translations

 * Afrikaans:
 * Bulgarian: свиване, скъсяване
 * Catalan: contracció
 * Finnish:
 * German: ,


 * Hebrew: התכווצות (hitkavtzut)
 * Korean: 단축 (danchuk)
 * Norwegian: kontraksjon, forminskning
 * Russian:
 * Swedish: minskning, kontraktion


 * Bulgarian: свиване
 * Catalan: contracció
 * Finnish: supistus, lihassupistus
 * German: Kontraktion, Zusammenziehen
 * Hebrew: התכווצות (hitkavtzut)


 * Japanese: 攣縮(れんしゅく, renshuku)
 * Korean: 위축 (wichuk)
 * Norwegian: kontraksjon, sammentrekning
 * Russian:
 * Swedish: kontraktion, sammandragning


 * Bulgarian: контракция
 * Catalan: contracció
 * Japanese: 陣痛(じんつう, jintsū)
 * Norwegian: sammentrekning


 * Russian:
 * Serbian: контракција, трудови
 * Swedish: sammandragning


 * Bulgarian: съкращение
 * Catalan: contracció
 * German:
 * Korean: 단축어 (danchugeo)
 * Norwegian: sammentrekning


 * Polish: kontrakcja, forma ściąnięta
 * Russian:
 * Spanish:
 * Swedish: sammandragning