verb
abridge
To limit someone's rights or freedoms.
The proposed rule would abridge citizens' freedom to criticize officials.
Etymology
Old French abregier meant to shorten. Applied to rights or freedoms, shortening becomes a reduction in their extent: the person is allowed less than before.
More examples
- The court rejected a law that abridged voting rights.
- Officials cannot abridge those protections without legal authority.
- The complaint accuses the policy of abridging free speech.
Forms
abridge · abridges · abridged · abridging
Similar words
- curtail
- Limits an activity or right, often in its practical extent.
- infringe
- Violates a right without necessarily formally reducing its scope.