lessen
Americanverb (used without object)
-
lessens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lessened,
past participle, past
-
lessening
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
lessens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lessened,
past participle, past
-
lessening
present participle
-
to make less; reduce.
-
Archaic. to represent as less; depreciate; disparage.
verb
-
to make or become less
-
(tr) to make little of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lessensimple
-
lessenssimple
-
have lessenedperfect
-
has lessenedperfect
-
am lesseningprogressive
-
are lesseningprogressive
-
is lesseningprogressive
-
have been lesseningperfect progressive
-
has been lesseningperfect progressive
Past
-
lessenedsimple
-
had lessenedperfect
-
was lesseningprogressive
-
were lesseningprogressive
-
had been lesseningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lessen
First recorded in 1300–50; late Middle English lessenen, lasnen; equivalent to less + -en 1
Explanation
To lessen is to make smaller, to reduce, or to weaken. A high school football coach might try to lessen head injuries by improving the quality of the team's helmets. If your cold symptoms lessen, it means you're sneezing and coughing much less and can probably go to school. If the value of your Pez collection lessens, it means those plastic candy dispensers can't be sold for quite as much money on eBay. And your friend might recommend that you take a yoga class or learn to meditate, especially if she thinks you should lessen your stress and anxiety.
Vocabulary lists containing lessen
Going Down: Synonyms for "Fall"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Chop Chop: Synonyms for "Cut"
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Road Trip Magical Mystery List A
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The CMA gave interested parties the opportunity to comment on the deal over potential concerns about whether it could lessen competition in the market.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Tweaks to the rules to lessen the problem were made after just three races, and the engine split will be modified to become 60-40 by 2028, with an intermediate step for next year.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Carney has traveled the world for new business partners that can help Canada lessen dependence on the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, designed to lessen its dependency on declining cable TV revenue, is still in its nascent stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
So I said hello Miss Kinnian Im redy for my lessen today only I lossed the book we was using.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
“That really lessens our risk. You can rebuild savings accounts.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Further spikes of heat are likely, however as August wears on and the sun gradually loses some of its intensity, the likelihood of extreme temperatures in the high 30s lessens.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
"Our study suggests that living near a NPP may carry a measurable cancer risk -- one that lessens with distance," said senior author Petros Koutrakis, Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 24, 2026
“I don’t think that us having dudes sit down lessens any chances that we have — any motivation or confidence — to win the game,” Gadsden said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 3, 2026
"Routine lessens risk," her father chimed in, scarfing his food because he had a flight to catch.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
From a product standpoint, PayPal has pushed passkey verification, which it said has lessened friction customers experience at checkout.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Ultimately, if England are able to control the tempo of the game, dominating the ball for large parts, they will be hoping that the time they spend close to their own goal will be lessened.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
But it only made No. 110 in the ranking, weighed down by lower scores on AI readiness, talent readiness and resilience that lessened the impact of good scores on innovation and financial fitness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
In both cases, arginine treatment reduced the accumulation of Aβ and lessened its harmful effects.
From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026
Eventually, the bounce lessened to a dribble, and then the dribble sputtered to a trickle, until it finally reduced back to his usual lumbering step.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Shares of banks, airlines, retailers and other industries that had struggled since February have started breaking higher, lessening the market’s dependence on hot tech stocks and catching the attention of chart-watching technical strategists.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
Yes, it’s too high, he says, but he suggests that his housing plan will deploy a trickle-down approach that starts with lessening landlords’ risks and costs and thus encourages them to build more.
From Slate ● Jun. 3, 2026
It called for individual states to implement their own arrangements to accommodate for heatwaves and travel disruption while lessening the impact on the economy.
From BBC ● May 9, 2026
Ellen Swallow Richards is known as the founder of home economics, which to her meant bringing scientific principles to domestic life, lessening household labor and improving public health.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
“That is not an unnatural surmise,” said Fitzwilliam, “but it is a lessening of the honour of my cousin’s triumph very sadly.”
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Definitions 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.
