'Diminish' definitions:
Definition of 'diminish'
From: WordNet
verb
Decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper" [syn: decrease, diminish, lessen, fall] [ant: increase]
verb
Lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; "don't belittle your colleagues" [syn: diminish, belittle]
Definition of 'Diminish'
From: GCIDE
- Diminish \Di*min"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diminished; p. pr. & vb. n. Diminishing.] [Pref. di- (= L. dis-) + minish: cf. L. diminuere, F. diminuer, OE. diminuen. See Dis-, and Minish.]
- 1. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase. [1913 Webster]
- Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt. --Barrow. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken. [1913 Webster]
- This doth nothing diminish their opinion. --Robynson (More's Utopia). [1913 Webster]
- I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. --Ezek. xxix. 15. [1913 Webster]
- O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars Hide their diminished heads. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- 3. (Mus.) To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh. [1913 Webster]
- 4. To take away; to subtract. [1913 Webster]
- Neither shall ye diminish aught from it. --Deut. iv. 2. [1913 Webster]
- Diminished column, one whose upper diameter is less than the lower.
- Diminished scale, or Diminishing scale, a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute. --Gwilt.
- Diminishing rule (Arch.), a board cut with a concave edge, for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft.
- Diminishing stile (Arch.), a stile which is narrower in one part than in another, as in many glazed doors.
- Syn: To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail; impair; degrade. See Decrease. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Diminish'
From: GCIDE
- Diminish \Di*min"ish\, v. i. To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'diminish'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- abase,
- abash,
- abate,
- abbreviate,
- ablate,
- abrade,
- abridge,
- abstract,
- abuse,
- adjust to,
- allay,
- alleviate,
- allow for,
- alter,
- anesthetize,
- appease,
- assuage,
- attemper,
- attenuate,
- bank the fire,
- bate,
- be eaten away,
- belittle,
- benumb,
- blunt,
- boil down,
- box in,
- bring down,
- bring low,
- chasten,
- cheapen,
- circumscribe,
- clip,
- close,
- color,
- compress,
- condense,
- condition,
- confine,
- constrain,
- constrict,
- consume,
- consume away,
- contract,
- control,
- corrode,
- crop,
- crumble,
- crush,
- curtail,
- cushion,
- cut,
- cut back,
- cut down,
- damp,
- dampen,
- de-emphasize,
- deaden,
- deaden the pain,
- debase,
- decline,
- decrease,
- deduct,
- deflate,
- degrade,
- deliquesce,
- demean,
- deprecate,
- depreciate,
- depress,
- derogate,
- desiccate,
- detract,
- detract from,
- devalue,
- die away,
- die out,
- discredit,
- dismiss,
- disparage,
- dispraise,
- dive,
- dock,
- downgrade,
- downplay,
- drain,
- draw in,
- drift away,
- droop,
- drop,
- drop off,
- dry up,
- dull,
- dump,
- dump on,
- dwindle,
- ease,
- ease matters,
- ease off,
- eat away,
- ebb,
- erode,
- extenuate,
- extract,
- fade,
- fade away,
- fall,
- fall away,
- fall off,
- file away,
- flag,
- foment,
- give relief,
- gloss over,
- go,
- go away,
- go in,
- hedge,
- hedge about,
- humiliate,
- ignore,
- impair,
- keep within bounds,
- languish,
- lay,
- leach,
- leaven,
- lenify,
- lessen,
- let up,
- lighten,
- limit,
- lop,
- lower,
- lull,
- make allowance for,
- melt away,
- mince,
- minify,
- minimize,
- mitigate,
- moderate,
- modify,
- modulate,
- mollify,
- move away,
- move off,
- narrow,
- numb,
- obtund,
- pad,
- palliate,
- pare,
- peter out,
- pine,
- play down,
- plummet,
- plunge,
- poultice,
- pour balm into,
- pour oil on,
- prune,
- pull away,
- purify,
- put down,
- qualify,
- recede,
- reduce,
- reduce the temperature,
- refine,
- regulate by,
- reject,
- relieve,
- remove,
- restrain,
- restrict,
- retire,
- retreat,
- retrench,
- retrocede,
- roll back,
- rub away,
- run low,
- sag,
- salve,
- scale down,
- sear,
- season,
- set conditions,
- set down,
- set limits,
- shorten,
- shrink,
- shrivel,
- simplify,
- sink,
- slacken,
- slake,
- slow down,
- slur over,
- smother,
- snape,
- sober,
- sober down,
- soft-pedal,
- soften,
- soothe,
- stand off,
- step down,
- stifle,
- straiten,
- stupe,
- subduct,
- subdue,
- subside,
- subtract,
- suppress,
- tail off,
- take away,
- take down,
- take from,
- tame,
- taper,
- taper off,
- temper,
- thin,
- thin out,
- tone down,
- trip up,
- truncate,
- tune down,
- underplay,
- varnish,
- vitiate,
- wane,
- waste,
- waste away,
- weaken,
- wear,
- wear away,
- weed,
- whitewash,
- widen the distance,
- wilt,
- wind down,
- withdraw,
- wither,
- wizen,
- write off