Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun contracting

1 sense of contracting

Sense 1
catching, contracting -- (becoming infected; "catching cold is sometimes unavoidable"; "the contracting of a serious illness can be financially catastrophic")
       => acquiring, getting -- (the act of acquiring something; "I envied his talent for acquiring"; "he's much more interested in the getting than in the giving")

Antonyms of verb contract

2 of 9 senses of contract

Sense 5
shrink, contract -- (become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank")
       Antonym of expand (Sense 1)
      => expand, spread out -- (extend in one or more directions; "The dough expands")

Sense 9
abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce -- (reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened")
       Antonym of expand (Sense 6)
      => elaborate, lucubrate, expatiate, exposit, enlarge, flesh out, expand, expound, dilate -- (add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation")

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb contract

9 senses of contract

Sense 1
contract, undertake -- (enter into a contractual arrangement)
       => promise, assure -- (make a promise or commitment)

Sense 2
sign, contract, sign on, sign up -- (engage by written agreement; "They signed two new pitchers for the next season")
       => hire, engage, employ -- (engage or hire for work; "They hired two new secretaries in the department"; "How many people has she employed?")

Sense 3
compress, constrict, squeeze, compact, contract, press -- (squeeze or press together; "she compressed her lips"; "the spasm contracted the muscle")
       => tighten -- (become tight or tighter; "The rope tightened")

Sense 4
contract, take, get -- (be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness; "He got AIDS"; "She came down with pneumonia"; "She took a chill")
       => sicken, come down -- (get sick; "She fell sick last Friday, and now she is in the hospital")

Sense 5
shrink, contract -- (become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank")
       => decrease, diminish, lessen, fall -- (decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper")

Sense 6
contract -- (make smaller; "The heat contracted the woollen garment")
       => shrink, reduce -- (reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?")

Sense 7
condense, concentrate, contract -- (compress or concentrate; "Congress condensed the three-year plan into a six-month plan")
       => change, alter, modify -- (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue")

Sense 8
narrow, contract -- (make or become more narrow or restricted; "The selection was narrowed"; "The road narrowed")
       => change -- (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature; "She changed completely as she grew older"; "The weather changed last night")

Sense 9
abridge, foreshorten, abbreviate, shorten, cut, contract, reduce -- (reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened")
       => decrease, lessen, minify -- (make smaller; "He decreased his staff")