The base of the lamina is gradually or abruptly contracted at the petiole.

The air abruptly contracted and the walls shivered and then bowed inward as though to trap him.

They'll be a thousand years getting here...." The artifact abruptly contracted, and Pham moaned.

Davis's chest contracted abruptly at the spearing glance the deke gave him.

The curl of smoke abruptly contracted into a dense ball, blocking O'Donahee's view of the rear exits.

The lamina may be gradually or abruptly contracted towards the amplexicaul base, which clasps the stem for around half of its circumference.

The speeding blue stripes of the hologram ran through a complex sequence of change: narrowing, widening, then contracting abruptly into a singularity of darkness that exploded outward into light, the bold glory of a star-filled universe.