diminished
Britishadjective
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reduced or lessened; made smaller
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music denoting any minor or perfect interval reduced by a semitone
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music denoting a triad consisting of the root plus a minor third and a diminished fifth
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music (postpositive) (esp in jazz or pop music) denoting a diminished seventh chord having as its root the note specified
B diminished
Explanation
If you drive through a tunnel, you’ll notice that your cell phone reception is diminished. When something is diminished, it’s been weakened or lessened. Diminished is an adjective used when something has lost its power, prestige, or worth. The value of a car, for instance, is diminished over time by wear and tear. In some instances, diminished means "belittled," or made to seem like less in the face of something perceived as better or greater. The popularity of a laptop, for instance, will be diminished if a cheaper, more powerful model is released. Leaders and politicians who get involved in scandals often suffer diminished reputations.
Vocabulary lists containing diminished
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
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The City of Ember
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Music - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But that advantage diminished in the age of social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
The increases diminished within two to three minutes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 5, 2026
It is dismal reading for Arsenal fans, whose optimism has quickly diminished and their 4-2 defeat at City on Sunday added further salt to their wounds.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
General Motors GM 1.42%increase; green up pointing triangle reported a decline in third-quarter sales, as discontinued models and a diminished market for electric vehicles weighed on the company’s performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
As relationships between family and friends become strained or false, not only are people’s understandings of one another diminished, but, because people are social, they themselves are diminished as well.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
