Free Sentence Shortener

Paste a passage that runs long and get it back saying everything it said in fewer words, with nothing dropped that mattered.

DocumentUntitled document

SynonymsBalanced

Protect names & numbers

Let’s rewrite!

Start typing, paste your text, or upload a Word, PDF or text file. Select any word to freeze it.

Your paraphrase will appear herePick a mode, add your text, then press Paraphrase. Click any word in the result for synonyms.

Checking your limit...

Ctrl + Enter

Sentence shortener

What Shorten mode does

A word limit, a slide, a subject line, an abstract, a paragraph that a reader will skim. Shorten mode is for text that is too long rather than text that is wrong: it removes what the sentence did not need and keeps what it did. Shorten cuts filler phrases, collapses roundabout constructions into direct ones, merges sentences that were saying one thing in two and drops repetition, while keeping every fact, condition and exception. It does not summarise: the points that were there are still there.

How to use the sentence shortener

Three steps, and the third is where the checking happens.

Paste the passage

Type it, paste it, or upload a PDF, DOCX, TXT or Markdown file. A sentence or a few paragraphs; the example below is one short passage.

Check the settings

Shorten is already selected on this page. Leave the synonyms slider at Balanced for a first run, keep Protect names & numbers on, and freeze any term that must not change.

Read what changed

Every changed word is highlighted against your original. Click one for alternatives, edit the result in place, run it again for another version, or copy and download it.

Before and after in Shorten mode

A real run of the tool, unedited, so you can judge the mode on what it actually returned.

Your text65 words

In light of the fact that the majority of our customers have indicated that they would prefer to receive their invoices by email rather than by post, we have made the decision to move to electronic invoicing for all accounts with effect from 1 November, although customers who wish to continue receiving paper invoices will still be able to do so if they contact us.

Shorten mode30 words

Since most customers prefer emailed invoices, we’ll switch to electronic invoicing for all accounts on 1 November. Customers who still want paper invoices can keep receiving them by contacting us.

Sixty-five words became thirty. The date, the exception for paper invoices and what those customers have to do all survived; the tool introduced one contraction ("we’ll"), which Formal mode would have avoided. Generated by the paraphraser on 18 September 2026 in Shorten mode at Balanced strength with Protect names & numbers on, printed here unedited.

What Shorten mode changes

The three kinds of edit it makes, with the words from the example above.

Roundabout phrasing"In light of the fact that" becomes "since"; "have made the decision to move to" becomes "we'll switch to"; "with effect from" becomes "on".
Repetition"Receive their invoices by email rather than by post" and "electronic invoicing" were the same point twice; the rewrite says it once.
Sentence countOne 70-word sentence with an "although" becomes two short sentences, because the exception deserved its own.

What it leaves alone

A paraphrase is judged by what it does not touch.

Conditions and exceptionsThe customers who want paper invoices are still in the rewrite, with what they have to do. Shorten is not allowed to drop a clause because it is inconvenient.
Dates, figures and names"1 November" survives exactly. Protect names & numbers is on by default.
Your registerShorten does not make text more casual or more formal; it makes it briefer at the register it has.

How far to move it

The synonyms slider sets the degree of change: Light, Balanced or Extensive.

Strength for ShortenBalanced usually removes a third to a half of the words. Light trims filler only and is the right choice for text that is nearly at length. Extensive (Pro) rewrites sentences from scratch for the tightest version and is the one for hard limits.
Protect names & numbersOn by default. Figures, dates, citations and organisations stay exactly as written. Switch it off only when a number itself is what you want reworded.
FreezeClick any word in the result and freeze it. A frozen term survives every later run of any mode.

Common mistakes with Shorten mode

Five ways a shorten rewrite goes wrong, and how the diff catches each one.

Using Shorten when you needed a summary

Shorten keeps every point and says each more briefly. If you need the gist of a long document, that is the Summarizer, and it will drop points on purpose.

Shortening a legal or contractual sentence

The "although" clause in a contract is the contract. Shorten keeps conditions, but a shorter version of a clause is still a different document. Quote it.

Trusting the word count alone

Fewer words is not the goal; the same meaning in fewer words is. Read the highlighted diff for a condition or a qualifier that went missing.

Running it twice

The second pass on an already tight passage starts removing things that were doing work. One pass at the right strength is the method.

Shortening a quotation

If it is inside quotation marks it has to match the source. Shorten your own sentence around the quote instead.

Sentence shortener FAQs

Is the sentence shortener free?

Yes. Shorten is one of the six free paraphrase modes, and you can use it without an account within the per-request word allowance shown next to the editor. Signing in raises the allowance; Pro removes the guest limits and the ads and adds the Academic, Creative and Custom modes and the Extensive synonyms level.

How much shorter will my text get?

Balanced usually cuts a third to a half; the example on this page went from 65 words to 30. Light trims less, and Extensive (Pro) goes furthest. The word counts before and after are shown under the text.

What is the difference between Shorten and the Summarizer?

Shorten keeps every point and says each one in fewer words. The Summarizer decides which points matter and drops the rest. For a paragraph that must stay complete but fit a limit, Shorten; for the gist of a report, the Summarizer.

Can it shorten a single sentence?

Yes, and that is a common use: a headline, a subject line or a topic sentence that runs long. Paste the one sentence and run Shorten at Balanced.

Will the sentence shortener change names, numbers or dates?

Not unless you switch Protect names & numbers off. It is on by default, so a figure, a date, a citation or an organisation stays exactly as written while the sentence is rebuilt around it. You can also click any word and freeze it so it survives every run.

Can I see what the sentence shortener changed?

Yes. The result comes back with every changed word highlighted against your original, and you can switch to the original at any time to compare. Click a highlighted word for alternatives, edit the result in place, or step back to an earlier version.

After the rewrite

Check the grammar of the result, shift its register with the tone changer, or summarise it when you only need the gist. One plan covers every tool.

Grammar checker Tone changer Summarizer All modes

Run Shorten mode

One page per paraphrase mode

Each page opens the paraphraser with that mode already selected, shows a real before-and-after the tool returned, and explains what the mode changes and what it leaves alone. Standard, the default mode, is the main paraphraser page; Academic, Creative and Custom are part of Pro and live in the mode menu above.

Fluency paraphraser Formal paraphraser Text simplifierSentence shortenerSentence expander