Library / English Dictionary

DIMINISH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Decrease in size, extent, or range

Example:

his voice fell to a whisper

Synonyms:

decrease; diminish; fall; lessen

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "diminish" is one way to...):

change magnitude (change in size or magnitude)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "diminish"):

decrescendo (grow quieter)

decelerate; retard; slow; slow down; slow up (lose velocity; move more slowly)

wane (become smaller)

wane (decrease in phase)

decline; go down; wane (grow smaller)

thin out (become sparser)

shorten (become short or shorter)

depreciate; devaluate; devalue; undervalue (lose in value)

de-escalate (diminish in size, scope, or intensity)

remit (diminish or abate)

dwindle; dwindle away; dwindle down (become smaller or lose substance)

deflate (become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air)

abate; die away; let up; slack; slack off (become less in amount or intensity)

shrink; shrivel; shrivel up; wither (wither, as with a loss of moisture)

contract; shrink (become smaller or draw together)

boil down; concentrate; decoct; reduce (be cooked until very little liquid is left)

weaken (become weaker)

ease off; ease up; flag; slacken off (become less intense)

break (fall sharply)

fly; vanish; vaporize (decrease rapidly and disappear)

drop off (fall or diminish)

taper (diminish gradually)

shrink; shrivel (decrease in size, range, or extent)

break (diminish or discontinue abruptly)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

diminution (change toward something smaller or lower)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of

Example:

don't belittle your colleagues

Synonyms:

belittle; diminish

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "diminish" is one way to...):

decrease; lessen; minify (make smaller)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

As the Earth’s climate continues to warm, tree growth will continue to accelerate, but the length of time that trees store carbon, the so-called carbon residence time, will diminish.

(Amount of carbon stored in forests reduced as climate warms, University of Cambridge)

But in modern times, the Great Red Spot appears to be diminishing in size, as measured by Earth-based telescopes and spacecraft.

(NASA's Juno Probes the Depths of Jupiter's Great Red Spot, NASA)

When bacteria were eliminated the number of lesions was greatly diminished.

(Researchers connect brain blood vessel lesions to intestinal bacteria, NIH)

With sustained use, the effects of tachycardia and enhanced alertness diminish while psychotoxic effects such as hallucinations and delusions may occur.

(Amphetamine, NCI Thesaurus)

Diminished immune responsiveness to specific antigens.

(Anergy, NCI Thesaurus)

Diminished or absent blood supply to the brain caused by obstruction (thrombosis or embolism) of an artery resulting in neurologic damage.

(Cerebrovascular Ischemia, NCI Thesaurus)

The upper limit of efficacy where diminishing returns result from increasing dosages.

(Ceiling Effect, NCI Thesaurus)

When administered topically, eflornithine irreversibly inhibits skin ODC activity, thereby inhibiting the synthesis of polyamines; inhibition of polyamine synthesis may result in diminished hair growth and epidermal cell turnover.

(Eflornithine Hydrochloride Ointment, NCI Thesaurus)

CREB mutants exhibit deficiencies in spatial learning tasks, while flies overexpressing or lacking CREB show enhanced or diminished learning, respectively.

(CREB Activation Signaling Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Desloratadine diminishes the typical histaminergic effects on H1-receptors in bronchial smooth muscle, capillaries and gastrointestinal smooth muscle, including vasodilation, bronchoconstriction, increased vascular permeability, pain, itching and spasmodic contractions of gastrointestinal smooth muscle.

(Desloratadine, NCI Thesaurus)