minimize

[ min-uh-mahyz ]

/ ˈmɪn əˌmaɪz /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR minimize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), min·i·mized, min·i·miz·ing.

to reduce to the smallest possible amount or degree.

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

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transliterate

to remove or destroy all traces of.

to change (letters, words, etc.), into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.

to explain in terms that can be more easily understood.

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Also especially British, min·i·mise.

Origin of minimize

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

OTHER WORDS FROM minimize

min·i·mi·za·tion, nounmin·i·miz·er, nounun·min·i·mized, adjectiveun·min·i·miz·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH minimize

minimal minimize minimum minuscule minutia (see usage note at minuscule)

Words nearby minimize

minimally invasive, minimarket, minimart, minimax, minimill, minimize, minimoon, minimoto, minimum, minimum lending rate, minimum thermometer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for minimizing

Those 4.1 days of vacation often include a weekend, minimizing the risk of finding somebody else in your seat when you return.
Obama’s Extravagant Summer Break? More Like, America’s Vacation-Deficit Disorder|Clive Irving|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Speaking of the TSA leads directly into a final way of minimizing the excesses and wastefulness of a national surveillance state.
Four Principles for a Libertarian National Security State|Nick Gillespie|September 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But, the essay is also myopic—once again exaggerating Jewish guilt and minimizing Palestinian blame and responsibility.
What Beinart Overlooks in His 'American Jewish Cocoon' Article|Gil Troy|September 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But then people started defending--or minimizing to the point of untruth--the clearly indefensible.
Why Hugo Chavez Was Bad for Venezuela|Megan McArdle|March 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST

I'm not minimizing the problem of prescription drug abuse, mind you; I've known a few people who've had a hard time with it.
Bloomberg’s Latest Crackdown: Prescription Drugs|Megan McArdle|January 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
While not minimizing its value, it is everywhere maintained in Germany that it acts as a bulwark against progress.
Germany and the Germans|Price Collier
The only medicine in the pharmacopœia of those times that was believed to be useful in minimizing danger to life was human blood.
The Evolution of the Dragon|G. Elliot Smith
We should not delude ourselves into minimizing the dangerous possibilities of the present situation.
The New World of Islam|Lothrop Stoddard
Both stood for toleration and for the minimizing of the differences between the sects.
Theodicy|G. W. Leibniz
This was Luthers reasoning; he wished to make some allowances for enlightenment; he hoped to preserve the faith by minimizing it.
The Non-religion of the Future: A Sociological Study|Jean-Marie Guyau

British Dictionary definitions for minimizing

minimize

minimise

/ (ˈmɪnɪˌmaɪz) /

verb (tr)

to reduce to or estimate at the least possible degree or amountto minimize a risk

to rank or treat at less than the true worth; belittleto minimize someone's achievements

Derived forms of minimize

minimization or minimisation, nounminimizer or minimiser, 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

minimize

verb (used with object), min·i·mized, min·i·miz·ing.

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Origin of minimize

OTHER WORDS FROM minimize

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH minimize

Words nearby minimize

Words related to minimizing

Example sentences from the Web for minimizing

British Dictionary definitions for minimizing

minimise

verb (tr)

Derived forms of minimize