diminish

verb di·min·ish \ də-ˈmi-nish \

Definition of diminish

transitive verb

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 ¹taper 1)

a diminished column

intransitive verb

1 :to become gradually less (as in size or importance) :dwindle

the side effects tend to diminish over time

2 architecture :taper

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diminishable

play \-ni-shə-bəl\ adjective

—

diminishment

play \-mənt\ noun

See diminish defined for English-language learners

See diminish defined for kids

Examples of diminish in a Sentence

The strength of the army was greatly diminished by outbreaks of disease.
The drug's side effects should diminish over time.
Nothing could diminish the importance of his contributions.

Recent Examples of diminish from the Web

Rossi scores his first win of the 2017 IndyCar season Combine Honda’s power advantage at superspeedways with its newfound reliability, and Chevrolet’s odds of driving down victory lane on Sunday are diminished.

— jim ayello, USA TODAY Sports, "Ayello: Five storylines to watch as IndyCar heads to Pocono," 18 Aug. 2017
His completion percentage (56.2) was diminished by bouts of inaccuracy caused by inconsistent throwing technique.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "What if Lamar Jackson is better? | Tim Sullivan," 15 Aug. 2017
This year, it has been defined by diminishing production at the plate.

— rustin dodd, kansascity, "Alex Gordon is struggling. Here’s why Ned Yost says he’ll still play most days," 4 Aug. 2017
But after diminishing box-office returns for the film series, Lionsgate first mulled budget cuts before pivoting to TV.

— rebecca keegan, vanityfair.com, "The Actors Grabbing Awards Voters’ Attention," 3 Aug. 2017
As competence diminishes and the dependence on family increases, performance will get even worse, and Trump will increasingly follow his whims.

— t.a. frank, The Hive, "Has Trump Finally Entered the Death Spiral?," 21 July 2017
Fellow Republicans and presidential historians said Trump’s view of politics as a zero-sum, black-or-white grudge match has boxed him in six months into office with fewer tools at the negotiating table and diminishing returns with voters.

— david nakamura, Washington Post, "Trump’s penchant for extremes worked on the campaign trail but hinders his White House," 19 July 2017
But none of this diminishes the seriousness of Britain’s current problems.

— The Economist, "BagehotBritish politics has become dangerously bad-tempered," 19 July 2017
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, noise pollution is noise that interferes with normal activities, such as sleeping and conversation, and disrupts or diminishes our quality of life.

— rachel buxton, Smithsonian, "How Human Noise Ruins Parks for Animals and People," 19 July 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of diminish

Middle English deminishen, alteration of diminuen, from Anglo-French diminuer, from Late Latin diminuere, alteration of Latin deminuere, from de- + minuere to lessen — more at minor

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First Known Use: 15th century

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diminish Synonyms

Synonyms

bad-mouth, belittle, cry down, denigrate, deprecate, depreciate, derogate, decry, dis (also diss) [slang], discount, dismiss, disparage, kiss off, minimize, play down, poor-mouth, put down, run down, talk down, trash, trash-talk, vilipend, write off

Antonyms

acclaim, applaud, exalt, extol (also extoll), glorify, laud, magnify, praise

Related Words

discommend; abuse, scold; disapprove (of), dislike; censure, condemn, criticize, denounce, reprehend, reprobate; asperse, defame, malign, rip, slander, slur, traduce, vilify; discredit, disgrace

Near Antonyms

approve, countenance, endorse (also indorse), favor, recommend, sanction; commend, compliment, eulogize

Synonym Discussion of diminish

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

DIMINISH Defined for English Language Learners

diminish

verb

Definition of diminish for English Language Learners

: 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