JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<div id="fos">
<span id="sp">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Proin nisi ligula, dapibus a volutpat sit amet, mattis et dui. Nunc porttitor accumsan orci id luctus. Phasellus ipsum metus, tincidunt non rhoncus id, dictum a lectus. Nam sed ipsum a lacus sodales eleifend. Vestibulum lorem felis, rhoncus elementum vestibulum eget, dictum ut velit. Nullam venenatis, elit in suscipit imperdiet, orci purus posuere mauris, quis adipiscing ipsum urna ac quam.</span>  
</div>

CSS

#fos { font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
    font-size:14px;
    font-weight: normal;
    line-height: 18px;
    width: 238px;
    height:38px;
    cursor: pointer;
    word-wrap:break-word;
    border:2px solid; }
#sp { }

JavaScript

var p=$('#sp');
var divh=$('#fos').height();
while ($(p).outerHeight()>divh) {
    $(p).text(function (index, text) {
        return text.replace(/\W*\s(\S)*$/, '...');
    });
}