Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of shortening something by cutting off a part: The process of making something shorter by removing an end or section.
   • The state of being shortened or cut off: The condition of having a part removed, resulting in a blunt or abbreviated form.
   • (In mathematics and computing) The process of limiting a number or text string by removing digits or characters from the end: The act of cutting off a sequence of digits or characters to fit a required length or precision.

Usage Examples

• General Use:
  • The truncation of the novel made it fit for a magazine publication.
  • Historical records often suffer from truncation, leaving gaps in our knowledge.
• Scientific/Technical Use:
  • Data truncation occurred when the field was not large enough to hold the entire entry.
  • The geologist explained the truncation of the rock layers by the fault line.

Advanced Usage

• "Truncation error": In numerical analysis, the error that results from using an approximation, such as a finite number of terms, instead of an infinite mathematical procedure.
  • The calculation's inaccuracy was due to a significant truncation error.
• "Truncation search": In information retrieval, a technique using a symbol (often an asterisk
  • Using the truncation symbol "comput" will find "computer", "computation", and "computing".

Variants and Related Words

• Truncate (verb): To shorten something by cutting off the top or end.
  • They had to truncate the speech due to time constraints.
• Truncated (adjective): Shortened as if by cutting off a part.
  • We saw only a truncated version of the documentary.

Synonyms

• Shortening: The act of making something shorter.
• Abbreviation: A shortened form of a word or phrase.
• Curtailment: The action of reducing or restricting something.

Antonyms

• Elongation: The act of making something longer.
• Extension: The action of enlarging or extending something.

Related Phrases

• Suffer truncation: To undergo or be subjected to being cut short.
  • The film's final scene suffered severe truncation by the studio.
• Apex truncation: (In geometry/crystallography) The cutting off of the apex of a solid by a plane.
  • The crystal's form was modified by apex truncation.

Noun

1. the act of cutting short
   • it is an obvious truncation of the verse
   • they were sentenced to a truncation of their limbs
2. the replacement of an edge or solid angle (as in cutting a gemstone) by a plane (especially by a plane that is equally inclined to the adjacent faces)
3. the property of being truncated or short