diminish

verb

di-MIN-ish/dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/

Formsdiminishes, diminishing, diminished

7 meanings of diminish

Practice

1
verbtransitive
To make something smaller in size or amount.
Like letting air out of a balloon so it gets smaller.
The new tax will diminish their profits each year.
Heavy rain can diminish the size of the harvest.
Similarreduce, lessen, decrease, weaken, erode
Oppositeincrease, enhance, boost, strengthen
Note
2
verbintransitive
To become smaller or less in amount over time.
Like a candle that slowly burns down to nothing.
Her fear began to diminish as the storm passed.
The crowd diminished after the rain started.
Similardecrease, decline, dwindle, wane, shrink
Oppositeincrease, grow, rise
Note
3
verbtransitive
To make someone or something seem less important or powerful.
Like cutting someone down to size with mean words.
Don't let one mistake diminish your confidence.
His rude comments diminished her authority in the meeting.
Similarundermine, belittle, weaken, damage, tarnish
Oppositeenhance, bolster, strengthen
Note
4
verbtransitive
To make something seem less important than it really is.
Like saying a big problem is small so people stop worrying about it.
Please don't diminish her hard work.
He diminished the danger to keep everyone calm.
Similardownplay, minimize, understate, belittle, trivialize
Oppositeexaggerate, overstate, magnify
Note
5
verbintransitive
To slowly fade away until nothing is left.
Like a sound that gets quieter and quieter until you can't hear it.
The pain will diminish over the next few days.
The echo diminished as we walked away.
Similarfade, wane, dwindle, ebb, dim
Oppositegrow, intensify
Note
6
verbtransitive
To take an amount away from something else.
Like taking coins out of a jar so fewer are left.
Each withdrawal will diminish your savings.
Heavy taxes diminished his monthly pay.
Similarreduce, deplete, erode, cut
Oppositeincrease, augment
Note
7
verbintransitive
To slowly get narrower toward one end.
Like a pencil that gets thinner until it reaches the sharp point.
Tall pillars diminish toward the top.
The tower diminished to a slender point.
Similartaper, narrow
Oppositewiden, broaden
Note

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Origin

This word came from mixing two older words: 'diminue' (from Old French and Latin) and 'minish'.