diminish
to make or cause to seem smaller, less, less important, etc.; lessen; reduce.
Architecture. to give (a column) a form tapering inward from bottom to top.
Music. to make (an interval) smaller by a chromatic half step than the corresponding perfect or minor interval.
to detract from the authority, honor, stature, or reputation of; disparage.
to lessen; decrease.
Origin of diminish
1synonym study For diminish
Other words from diminish
- di·min·ish·a·ble, adjective
- di·min·ish·ment, noun
- non·di·min·ish·ing, adjective
- pre·di·min·ish, verb (used with object)
- pre·di·min·ish·ment, noun
- un·di·min·ish·a·ble, adjective
- un·di·min·ish·a·ble·ness, noun
- un·di·min·ish·a·bly, adverb
- un·di·min·ished, adjective
- un·di·min·ish·ing, adjective
Words Nearby diminish
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use diminish in a sentence
He exploited a physique that most would try desperately to diminish.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe founder shut it down and left the state, hoping that time away would diminish the danger.
She Tweeted Against the Mexican Cartels. They Tweeted Her Murder. | Jason McGahan | October 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTEven as the ranks of culture warriors on the right diminish, their zeal seems to intensify.
The Right Wing Screams for the Wambulance Over Gay Marriage Ruling | Walter Olson | October 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPerry and others seem to completely diminish the agency of South Sudanese in their own history.
Confronting George Clooney’s Critics on South Sudan | John Avlon | October 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTDavis' abortion narrative has helped diminish the social stigma surrounding abortion.
For this reason they were obliged to diminish their rations, of which they had rather a small quantity.
To unduly increase rates would diminish traffic and induce competition by road and sea.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowThis evidence does not require us to abandon the supposition that the tides tend to diminish the earth's rate of rotation.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerThe result is, with the inward retreat of the steep it enters on conditions which diminish the effectiveness of the wave stroke.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate ShalerAt the same time the alluvial materials, building out to sea, thus diminish the slope of the stream.
Outlines of the Earth's History | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler
British Dictionary definitions for diminish
/ (dɪˈmɪnɪʃ) /
to make or become smaller, fewer, or less
(tr) architect to cause (a column, etc) to taper
(tr) music to decrease (a minor or perfect interval) by a semitone
to belittle or be belittled; reduce in authority, status, etc; depreciate
Origin of diminish
1Derived forms of diminish
- diminishable, adjective
- diminishingly, adverb
- diminishment, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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