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diminish. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
diminish, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
diminish in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
diminish you have here. The definition of the word
diminish will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
diminish, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
Formed under the influence of both diminue (from Old French diminuer, from Latin dīminuo) and minish.
Pronunciation
Verb
diminish (third-person singular simple present diminishes, present participle diminishing, simple past and past participle diminished)
- (transitive) To make smaller.
- (intransitive) To become less or smaller.
2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. […] One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may not have done anything about war. But peace is a lot more peaceful.
2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The Bam Nuttall Partnership Award: Kilmarnock”, in RAIL, number 946, page 58:In the latter years of its existence, BR was rationalising its estate by pulling down station buildings which were too large for its modern operational needs, or by shutting off parts of them when demolition was not an option. Kilmarnock station falls into this latter category. It dominates the townscape, but its operational importance has seriously diminished since electrification of the West Coast Main Line.
- (transitive) To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken; to nerf (in gaming).
- 1639, Ralph Robinson (translator), Utopia by Thomas More, London, Book 2, “Of their journying or travelling abroad,” p. 197,
- this doth nothing diminish their opinion.
1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book 4, lines 32-35:O thou, that, with surpassing glory crowned,
Lookest from thy sole dominion like the God
Of this new world; at whose sight all the stars
Hide their diminished heads; to thee I call,
1961, V. S. Naipaul, chapter 3, in A House for Mr Biswas, London: André Deutsch:In Seth’s presence Mr Biswas felt diminished. Everything about Seth was overpowering: his calm manner, his smooth grey hair, his ivory holder, his hard swollen forearms […]
- (intransitive) To taper.
1853, Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 8, in Cranford, London: J.M. Dent, published 1904, page 120:The chair and table legs diminished as they neared the ground, and were straight and square in all their corners.
- (intransitive) To disappear gradually.
1948, Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter, Penguin, published 1971, Part Two, Chapter 2, 1, p. 77:‘Good evening, good evening,’ Father Rank called. His stride lengthened and he caught a foot in his soutane and stumbled as he went by. ‘A storm’s coming up,’ he said. ‘Got to hurry,’ and his ‘ho, ho, ho’ diminished mournfully along the railway track, bringing no comfort to anyone.
- (transitive) To take away; to subtract.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
To make smaller
- Arabic: خَسَّ (ar) (ḵassa)
- Assamese: দমোৱা (domüa)
- Bulgarian: намалявам (bg) (namaljavam)
- Catalan: disminuir (ca)
- Czech: zmenšit (cs)
- Dutch: verkleinen (nl), verminderen (nl)
- Esperanto: malgrandigi, plimalgrandigi
- Finnish: pienentää (fi)
- French: réduire (fr)
- Galician: diminuír (gl)
- Georgian: ამცირებს (amcirebs), შეამცირებს (šeamcirebs), აპატარავებს (aṗaṭaravebs), დააპატარავებს (daaṗaṭaravebs)
- German: vermindern (de), verkleinern (de), reduzieren (de), verringern (de)
- Greek:
- Ancient: μειόω (meióō), ἐλασσόω (elassóō)
- Ido: diminutar (io)
- Irish: beagaigh, laghdaigh
- Italian: diminuire (it), ridurre (it)
- Latin: dēdūcō (la), minuō (la), diminuō
- Latvian: samazināt
- Lithuanian: sumažinti (lt)
- Maori: whakamimiti, tāharahara
- Portuguese: diminuir (pt)
- Quechua: asllayachiy, chikachay, huch'uiyachiy
- Romanian: micșora (ro), diminua (ro), reduce (ro)
- Russian: уменьша́ть (ru) impf (umenʹšátʹ), уме́ньшить (ru) pf (uménʹšitʹ)
- Sanskrit: क्षीयते (kṣīyate)
- Spanish: disminuir (es), diminuir (disused), jibarizar
- Swedish: minska (sv)
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To become smaller
- Armenian: պակասել (hy) (pakasel)
- Assamese: দমা (doma)
- Bulgarian: отслабвам (bg) (otslabvam)
- Catalan: disminuir (ca)
- Czech: (please verify) zmenšit se
- Dutch: afnemen (nl), verkleinen (nl)
- Esperanto: malgrandiĝi, plimalgrandiĝi
- Finnish: pienentyä (fi)
- French: rétrécir (fr), rapetisser (fr), diminuer (fr)
- Galician: diminuír (gl)
- Georgian: მცირდება (mcirdeba), შემცირდება (šemcirdeba), პატარავდება (ṗaṭaravdeba), დაპატარავდება (daṗaṭaravdeba)
- German: schrumpfen (de)
- Ido: diminutar (io)
- Irish: laghdaigh
- Latin: dēcrescō
- Maori: whakatōririki
- Navajo: áádįįł
- Portuguese: diminuir (pt)
- Quechua: huch'uiyay, yawyay
- Russian: уменьша́ться (ru) impf (umenʹšátʹsja), уме́ньшиться (ru) pf (uménʹšitʹsja)
- Spanish: disminuirse (es), diminuirse (disused)
- Swedish: minska (sv)
- Tocharian B: spāw-
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To reduce a perfect or minor interval by a semitone
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