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diminish

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Formed under the influence of bothdiminue (fromOld Frenchdiminuer, fromLatindīminuo) andminish.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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diminish (third-person singular simple presentdiminishes,present participlediminishing,simple past and past participlediminished)

  1. (transitive) To makesmaller.
  2. (intransitive) To becomeless orsmaller.
    • 2013 July 20, “Old soldiers?”, inThe Economist, volume408, number8845:
      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 hasdiminished. 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”, inRAIL, number946, page58:
      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 seriouslydiminished since electrification of the West Coast Main Line.
  3. (transitive) To makeappearsmaller than inreality; todismiss asunimportant.
    • 2018 December 1, Drachinifel, 11:37 from the start, inAnti-Slavery Patrols - The West Africa Squadron[1], archived fromthe original on29 November 2024:
      Although British involvement in the slave trade prior to 1807cannot be denied,or its effectsdiminished, it isalso a fact that the Royal Navy was pretty much theonly force in the world in the 19th century with the numbers, drive, willingness, firepower, and capability to curtail the global slave trade, and that,without these efforts, many more would no doubt have been taken to slave plantations and other such destinations during the 19th, and possibly even into the 20th, centuries, as it must be remembered that a great many European powers would only begrudgingly commit to ending the slave trade when theother option was continuous war with the British Empire.
  4. (transitive) Tolessen theauthority ordignity of; toput down; todegrade; toabase; toweaken; tonerf (in gaming).
    • 1611,The Holy Bible, [] (King James Version), London: [] Robert Barker, [],→OCLC,Ezekiel29:15:
      It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I willdiminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
    • 1639,Ralph Robinson (translator),Utopia byThomas More, London, Book 2, “Of their journying or travelling abroad,” p. 197,[2]
      [] this doth nothingdiminish their opinion.
    • 1674,John Milton,Paradise Lost[3],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 theirdiminished heads; to thee I call,
    • 1961,V. S. Naipaul, chapter 3, inA House for Mr Biswas, London: André Deutsch:
      In Seth’s presence Mr Biswas feltdiminished. Everything about Seth was overpowering: his calm manner, his smooth grey hair, his ivory holder, his hard swollen forearms[]
  5. (intransitive) Totaper.
    • 1853,Elizabeth Gaskell, chapter 8, inCranford[4], London: J.M. Dent, published1904, page120:
      The chair and table legsdiminished as they neared the ground, and were straight and square in all their corners.
  6. (intransitive) Todisappear gradually.
    • 1948,Graham Greene,The Heart of the Matter[5], Penguin, published1971, 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.
  7. (transitive) Totake away; tosubtract.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Related terms

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Translations

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To make smaller
To become smaller
To taper
To reduce a perfect or minor interval by a semitone
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Anagrams

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