diminish

di·min·ish

D0228000 (dĭ-mĭn′ĭsh)v. di·min·ished, di·min·ish·ing, di·min·ish·es v.tr.1. a. To make smaller or less; reduce or lessen. See Synonyms at decrease.b. To detract from the authority, reputation, or prestige of: "Her upper-class perfection ... somehow diminished me" (Shirley Abbott).2. To cause to taper.3. Music To reduce (a perfect or minor interval) by a semitone.v.intr.1. To become smaller or less.2. To taper.

[Middle English diminishen, blend of diminuen, to lessen (from Old French diminuer, from Latin dīminuere, variant of dēminuere : dē-, de- + minuere, to lessen) and minishen, to reduce (from Old French minuiser, from Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre, from Latin minūtia, smallness, from minūtus, small, from past participle of minuere); see mei- in Indo-European roots.]

di·min′ish·a·ble adj.di·min′ish·ment n.

diminish

(dɪˈmɪnɪʃ) vb1. to make or become smaller, fewer, or less2. (Architecture) (tr) architect to cause (a column, etc) to taper3. (Music, other) (tr) music to decrease (a minor or perfect interval) by a semitone4. to belittle or be belittled; reduce in authority, status, etc; depreciate[C15: blend of diminuen to lessen (from Latin dēminuere to make smaller, from minuere to reduce) + archaic minish to lessen] diˈminishable adj diˈminishingly adv diˈminishment n

di•min•ish

(dɪˈmɪn ɪʃ)

v.t. 1. to make or cause to seem smaller, less, or less important; lessen; reduce. 2. to reduce (a musical interval) by a half step less than a perfect or minor interval. 3. to detract from the authority, honor, stature, or reputation of; disparage. 4. to give a tapering form: a diminished column. v.i. 5. to lessen; decrease. [1400–50; b. diminuen (< Anglo-French diminuer < Medieval Latin dīminuere for Latin dēminuere to make smaller) and minishen, variant (assimilated to -ish²) of menusen < Middle French menu(i)sier < Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre; see mince] di•min′ish•a•ble, adj. di•min′ish•ment, n. syn: See decrease.

diminish

- A blend of diminue, "speak disparagingly," and minish, "reduce in amount, degree, influence, power."See also related terms for reduce.

diminish

Past participle: diminished
Gerund: diminishing

Imperative
diminish
diminish

Present
I diminish
you diminish
he/she/it diminishes
we diminish
you diminish
they diminish

Preterite
I diminished
you diminished
he/she/it diminished
we diminished
you diminished
they diminished

Present Continuous
I am diminishing
you are diminishing
he/she/it is diminishing
we are diminishing
you are diminishing
they are diminishing

Present Perfect
I have diminished
you have diminished
he/she/it has diminished
we have diminished
you have diminished
they have diminished

Past Continuous
I was diminishing
you were diminishing
he/she/it was diminishing
we were diminishing
you were diminishing
they were diminishing

Past Perfect
I had diminished
you had diminished
he/she/it had diminished
we had diminished
you had diminished
they had diminished

Future
I will diminish
you will diminish
he/she/it will diminish
we will diminish
you will diminish
they will diminish

Future Perfect
I will have diminished
you will have diminished
he/she/it will have diminished
we will have diminished
you will have diminished
they will have diminished

Future Continuous
I will be diminishing
you will be diminishing
he/she/it will be diminishing
we will be diminishing
you will be diminishing
they will be diminishing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been diminishing
you have been diminishing
he/she/it has been diminishing
we have been diminishing
you have been diminishing
they have been diminishing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been diminishing
you will have been diminishing
he/she/it will have been diminishing
we will have been diminishing
you will have been diminishing
they will have been diminishing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been diminishing
you had been diminishing
he/she/it had been diminishing
we had been diminishing
you had been diminishing
they had been diminishing

Conditional
I would diminish
you would diminish
he/she/it would diminish
we would diminish
you would diminish
they would diminish

Past Conditional
I would have diminished
you would have diminished
he/she/it would have diminished
we would have diminished
you would have diminished
they would have diminished

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	diminish - 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"decrease, lessen, fallbreak - diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night"shrivel, shrink - decrease in size, range, or extent; "His earnings shrank"; "My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me"taper - diminish gradually; "Interested tapered off"drop off - fall or diminish; "The number of students in this course dropped off after the first test"vaporize, vanish, fly - decrease rapidly and disappear; "the money vanished in las Vegas"; "all my stock assets have vaporized"break - fall sharply; "stock prices broke"ease off, slacken off, ease up, flag - become less intensechange magnitude - change in size or magnitudeweaken - become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days"boil down, decoct, concentrate, reduce - be cooked until very little liquid is left; "The sauce should reduce to one cup"shrink, contract - become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank"shrink, shrivel, shrivel up, wither - wither, as with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled"die away, let up, slack off, abate, slack - become less in amount or intensity; "The storm abated"; "The rain let up after a few hours"deflate - become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air; "The balloons deflated"dwindle, dwindle away, dwindle down - become smaller or lose substance; "Her savings dwindled down"remit - diminish or abate; "The pain finally remitted"de-escalate - diminish in size, scope, or intensity; "The war of words between them de-escalated with time"devaluate, devalue, undervalue, depreciate - lose in value; "The dollar depreciated again"shorten - become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten"thin out - become sparser; "Towards the end of town, the houses thinned out"wane, go down, decline - grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned"wane - decrease in phase; "the moon is waning"wane - become smaller; "Interest in his novels waned"decelerate, slow, slow down, slow up, retard - lose velocity; move more slowly; "The car decelerated"decrescendo - grow quieter; "The music decrescendoes here"
	2.	diminish - lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; "don't belittle your colleagues"belittleminify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"

diminish

verb1. decrease, decline, lessen, contract, weaken, shrink, dwindle, wane, recede, subside, ebb, taper, die out, fade away, abate, peter out The threat of war has diminished.
decrease increase, grow, expand, heighten, enlarge2. reduce, cut, decrease, lessen, contract, lower, weaken, curtail, abate, retrench, disempower Federalism is intended to diminish the power of the central state.
reduce increase, expand, enhance, amplify, augment, heighten, enlarge3. belittle, scorn, devalue, undervalue, deride, demean, denigrate, scoff at, disparage, decry, sneer at, underrate, deprecate, depreciate, cheapen, derogate He never diminished her in front of other people.

diminish

verbTo grow or cause to grow gradually less:abate, decrease, drain, dwindle, ebb, lessen, let up, peter (out), rebate, reduce, tail away (or off), taper (off).

Translations

减少

diminish

(diˈminiʃ) verb to make or become less. Our supplies are diminishing rapidly.减少diˈminished adjective (negative undiminished). 减少的

diminish

→ 减少zhCN

diminish

diminishing returns

1. In economics, a yield rate (i.e., of profits, production, benefits, etc.) that fails to grow in proportion to the amount of investment, skill, time, or effort that is added. The restaurant, to combat high volumes of customers, hired a large surplus of wait staff and cooks. This led to diminishing returns, however, as the overcrowded staff was far less efficient and eventually cost the restaurant more in wages than it was earning.2. By extension, any output or results (e.g., of a product, project, organization, etc.) that fail to increase proportionally to additional time, money, skill, or effort. Unfortunately, the show's charm has not lasted, and the infusion of zanier plots has created diminishing returns in terms of quality.See also: diminish, return

the law of diminishing returns

1. In economics, the law that a yield rate (i.e., of profits, production, benefits, etc.) will eventually fail to grow in proportion to the amount of investment, skill, time, or effort that is added. The restaurant, to combat high volumes of customers, hired a large surplus of wait staff and cooks. The law of diminishing returns kicked in, however, as the overcrowded staff was far less efficient and eventually cost the restaurant more in wages than it was earning.2. By extension, the idea that any output or results (e.g., of a product, project, organization, etc.) will eventually begin to fail increasing proportionally to additional time, money, skill, or effort. Unfortunately, the show's charm has not lasted, with increasingly zany plots and more characters than one can keep track of. That's just the law of diminishing returns, unfortunately. Schools feel like they have to pile on homework so students meet increasingly high targets for standardized tests, but then you rub up against the law of diminishing returns, because students can only handle so much work before they begin to burn out and perform poorly anyway.See also: diminish, law, of, return

the law of diminishing returns

used to refer to the point at which the level of profits or benefits to be gained is reduced to less than the amount of money or energy invested. This expression originated in the early 19th century with reference to the profits from agriculture.See also: diminish, law, of, return

diminish

di·min·ish

diminish

di•min•ish

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diminishing returns

the law of diminishing returns

the law of diminishing returns

diminish

Synonyms for diminish

verb decrease

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verb reduce

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verb belittle

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Synonyms for diminish

verb to grow or cause to grow gradually less

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Synonyms for diminish

verb decrease in size, extent, or range

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Related Words

verb lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of

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