Webster's English Dictionary

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abridgment

abridg.ment or abridge.ment \*-'brij-ment\ n 1a: the action of abridging  
   1b: the state of being abridged  2: a shortened form of a work retaining 
   the general sense and unity of the originalEPITOME mean a condensed 
   treatment. ABRIDGMENT suggests reduction in compass with retention of 
   relative completeness; ABSTRACT applies to a summary of points of a 
   treatise, document, or proposed treatment and usu. has no independent 
   worth; SYNOPSIS implies a skeletal presentation of an argument or a 
   narrative suitable for rapid examination; CONSPECTUS implies a quick 
   overall view of a large detailed subject; EPITOME suggests the briefest 
   possible presentation of a complex whole that still has independent value 
   SYN syn ABRIDGMENT, ABSTRACT, SYNOPSIS, CONSPECTUS,