minimize

American  

[min-uh-mahyz] / ˈmɪn əˌmaɪz /

especially British, minimise

verb (used with object)

• minimizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• minimized,
  past participle,  past
• minimizing
  present participle

1. to reduce to the smallest possible amount or degree.

2. to represent at the lowest possible amount, value, importance, influence, etc., especially in a disparaging way; belittle.

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minimize British  

/ ˈmɪnɪˌmaɪz /

verb

1. to reduce to or estimate at the least possible degree or amount

   to minimize a risk

2. to rank or treat at less than the true worth; belittle

   to minimize someone's achievements

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• minimization
  noun
• minimizer
  noun
• unminimized
  adjective
• unminimizing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• minimizing
  present
• minimized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• minimize
  simple
• minimizes
  simple
• have minimized
  perfect
• has minimized
  perfect
• am minimizing
  progressive
• are minimizing
  progressive
• is minimizing
  progressive
• have been minimizing
  perfect progressive
• has been minimizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• minimized
  simple
• had minimized
  perfect
• was minimizing
  progressive
• were minimizing
  progressive
• had been minimizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will minimize
  simple
• will have minimized
  perfect
• will be minimizing
  progressive
• will have been minimizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of minimize

First recorded in 1795–1805; minim(um) + -ize

Explanation

The verb minimize describes making something smaller or less serious. It typically refers to something negative that is being reduced, like when you eat at home instead of in restaurants to minimize expenses. To correctly pronounce minimize, accent the first syllable, which gets the short i sound: "MIH-nuh-mize." Minimize looks like minimum, which has the same spelling and meaning in English and Latin: smallest. To minimize something is to reduce it to its smallest amount — in size or importance. Other related words include minimal, miniscule, minute, and mini.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minimize minimizes minimized minimizing

To minimize conflict concerns, Mare offhandedly volunteers to temporarily work at the Cincinnati Chronicle, the Teller’s sister paper, while some of its staff members are on maternity leave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

“We encourage the County to cooperate with our investigation and we assure you that we will seek to minimize any potential disruption our investigation may have on County operations.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Background: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Operation Economic Outcast last month, calling it an “economic D-Day” while saying the U.S. approach would be measured to minimize damage to the global financial system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

“This weapon might help minimize corruption but with collateral damage,” John F. Hulpke, a professor at University College Dublin, wrote in the Journal of Management Inquiry in 2017.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

Learning from its lessons in Peru, Haiti, and Russia, PIH works closely with governments and their agencies to minimize political misunderstandings and to deploy their complementary resources.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

That minimizes the gift-tax hit for the founder and ensures that each piece of the stack can get its own $15 million exclusion when the company is worth more.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

It minimizes your role in your marriage and in your life, and it attempts to put you in a box.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 2026

But the new study’s “premise that the majority of disappearances are voluntary absences minimizes the responsibility of the state,” concluded the Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Center for Human Rights.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026

"Anyone who minimizes violence against women and girls is not voicing an isolated opinion, but revealing a complacent attitude toward abuse," the center said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026

Classic style minimizes abstractions, which cannot be seen with the naked eye.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

True abuse must never be minimized, and victims deserve safety.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

But it also suggests that viewers are mature enough to absorb the tougher truths omitted from Wilder’s original vision, as well as the roles of others who were minimized, like Sims’ good doctor.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

"Strikingly, when this receptor was removed from the mice, the development of arterial plaques dropped significantly in some areas and disruptions to the gut microbiome were minimized."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 9, 2026

“The fastball was good, slider was good, used the curveball, minimized hits.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026

I swiveled back around in my chair, looked at my computer screen, and minimized my history paper.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

One possibility the team is especially interested in is using the technology aboard satellites, where minimizing size, weight and power consumption is particularly important.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026

The arrangement was aimed at minimizing the number and cost of change orders, which are the bane of construction projects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

“We’re going to do everything in a way that is really minimizing any of the impacts.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Advisers say it’s important to look beyond minimizing taxes in a single year and instead focus on reducing your lifetime tax bill.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

Pollard had delivered a masterpiece of reinsmanship, avoiding the traps and saving ground while minimizing his run along the boggy rail.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• curtail
• decrease
• diminish
• downplay
• lessen
• play down
• reduce
• trivialize
• underestimate