condense
Definitions
To make a text or information shorter and more compact
（把文字、信息）精简，压缩，浓缩
(of a gas or vapor) to change into a liquid; to cool and turn to droplets
（气体、蒸汽）凝结，液化
To make a substance thicker or denser by removing water
（通过去除水分）使变浓，浓缩（液体）
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedcon- (together) + densare (make thick) = 'press tightly together.' That single act of squeezing fans into three uses: pack matter together (condensed milk), pack a gas's molecules until it becomes liquid (steam condenses), and pack ideas tight (condense a report). Same squeeze, different material.
Root dens still carries 5 more wordsWhy It Means This
All three senses come from one physical idea: pushing things closer together so they take less room. Squeeze water out of milk and it thickens; cool a gas so its molecules crowd into liquid; cut the slack out of a text so the meaning packs tighter. The matter changes, the squeeze stays the same.
Common Collocations
- 1.condense into浓缩成
- 2.condensed milk炼乳
- 3.condense a report精简报告
- 4.condense water vapor凝结水汽
Example Sentences
- 1.
Try to condense your report into a single page.
- 2.
Steam from the shower condenses on the cold mirror.
- 3.
The milk is condensed by boiling off most of the water.
- 4.
She condensed three hours of meetings into a short email.
Easily Confused
condense vs compress — Both shrink something, but compress is mostly about applying force/pressure to reduce volume (compress a file, compress a spring), while condense is about packing the essence and works for gases turning to liquid and for shortening text. You compress a file's size; you condense a story's content. For vapor → liquid only condense works.