diminish
verb
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Definition of diminish
1 : to make less or cause to appear less diminish an army's strength His role in the company was diminished.
2 : to lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of : belittle diminish a rival's accomplishments
3 architecture : to cause to taper (see taper entry 1 sense 1) a diminished column
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Other words from diminish
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adjective
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noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for diminish
Synonyms
abate, de-escalate, decline, decrease, die (away or down or out), drain (away), drop (off), dwindle, ease, ebb, fall, fall away, lessen, let up, lower, moderate, pall, phase down, ratchet (down) also rachet (down) , recede, relent, remit, shrink, subside, taper, taper off, wane
Antonyms
accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon (also bourgeon), enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mount, mushroom, pick up, rise, snowball, soar, swell, wax
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Examples of diminish in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Attention and coordination are diminished even in people who are resting. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "Why the trapped Thai soccer team is in increasing trouble: they’re running out of oxygen," 6 July 2018 The rest of the players are diminished in his presence. — Rory Smith, New York Times, "How Argentina Lost Its Way. (Spoiler: It’s Not Messi’s Fault.)," 22 June 2018 Trump administration officials declined to comment on these and other suggestions that the role of science in policymaking has been diminished in the Trump era. — Coral Davenport, The Seattle Times, "In Trump White House, science is unwelcome and so is advice," 9 June 2018 In no way does this diminish your laudable efforts, Kim. — Michael Harriot, The Root, "A Thank-You Letter to Kim Kardashian for Proving White Privilege Is Real," 7 June 2018 Slot values for this year’s draft run from north of $8 million at the top of the first round to $917,000 at the bottom of the second and diminish in subsequent rounds. — Chris Johnson, SI.com, "Kyler Murray's Baseball and Football Careers Converge for an Intriguing Summer at Oklahoma," 1 June 2018 Outlook: Burton’s Bait and Tackle reports: crappie – have really diminished in last week. — Tyler Mahoney, kansascity, "Fishing report: Prospects for area waters, plus tips on finding fishing Facebook groups," 30 May 2018 On the other side of that coin is the quality of that seed also being diminished in response to CO2. — Chelsea Harvey, Scientific American, "As CO2 Levels Rise, Rice Becomes Less Nutritious," 24 May 2018 Mitchell had reason to have confidence both enhanced and diminished in the lead-up to the opener. — David Woods, Indianapolis Star, "2018 season preview: Indiana Fever makeover starts with rookie Kelsey Mitchell," 18 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diminish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for diminish
diminish
verb
English Language Learners Definition of diminish
: to become or to cause (something) to become less in size, importance, etc.
: to lessen the authority or reputation of (someone or something) : to describe (something) as having little value or importance
See the full definition for diminish in the English Language Learners Dictionary
diminish
verb
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Kids Definition of diminish
1 : to make less or cause to seem less … he didn't want to diminish any chance he might have of being found. —Gary Paulsen, Hatchet
2 : belittle
3 : to become gradually less or smaller The number of wild birds is diminishing.
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