dent

¹dent

verb \ˈdent\

Definition of DENT

transitive verb

1

: to make a dent in <dent a car>

2

: to have a weakening effect on

intransitive verb

: to form a dent by sinking inward : become dented

Examples of DENT

1. I'm afraid I dented the wall pretty badly when I was hammering in that nail.
2. Many of the cans were badly dented.
3. Some types of metal dent more easily than others.
4. The team's confidence has been dented by a recent series of losses.

Origin of DENT

Middle English, short for indenten to make dents in, indent

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to DENT

Synonyms: abate, de-escalate, decrease, deplete, diminish, downscale, downsize, drop, dwindle, ease, knock down, lessen, lower, reduce

Antonyms: aggrandize, amplify, augment, boost, enlarge, escalate, expand, increase, raise

Related Words: compress, condense, constrict, contract; abbreviate, abridge, clip, crop, curtail, cut, cut back, cut down, dock, nick, pare, prune, retrench, shorten, slash, trim, truncate, whittle; deflate, shrink; minimize; moderate, modify, modulate, qualify

Near Antonyms: blow up, dilate, distend, inflate, swell; elongate, extend, lengthen, prolong, protract; add (to), complement, supplement; enhance, heighten, intensify; redouble

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Rhymes with DENT

bent, Brent, cent, gent, Ghent, hent, Lent, pent, rent, scent, sent, spent, sprent, stent, tent, Trent, vent