Main Entry:

¹de·crease

Pronunciation:

\di-ˈkrēs, ˈdē-ˌ\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

de·creased; de·creas·ing

Etymology:

Middle English decreessen, from Anglo-French decrestre, from Latin decrescere, from de- + crescere to grow — more at crescent

Date:

14th century

intransitive verb : to grow progressively less (as in size, amount, number, or intensity) transitive verb : to cause to decrease

— de·creas·ing·ly \di-ˈkrē-siŋ-lē, dē-\ adverb

synonyms decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle mean to grow or make less. decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity <slowly decreased the amount of pressure>. lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number <has been unable to lessen her debt>. diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total <his visual acuity has diminished>. reduce implies a bringing down or lowering <you must reduce your caloric intake>. abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount <the storm abated>. dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller <their provisions dwindled slowly>.