diminish

verb

di·​min·​ish də-ˈmi-nish 

diminished; diminishing; diminishes

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 taper entry 1 sense 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

diminishable

də-ˈmi-ni-shə-bəl 

adjective

diminishment

də-ˈmi-nish-mənt 

noun

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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 on the Web

In this sense, the attack on Israel is likely to enhance normalization with the Saudis, not diminish it. —Gadi Ezra, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024

As bighorn sheep ram tags become increasingly hard to draw — a result of more applicants, diminishing nonresident allocations, and struggling sheep populations — some hunters are changing their goals. —Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 11 Apr. 2024

Chinese content is getting better and the subject matter of Western films is of diminishing interest. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024

Shower chances diminish Friday night as winds remain breezy and lows dip to the upper 40s and low 50s. —Dan Stillman, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024

Russia has had an artillery advantage throughout the war, but that edge diminished for a time last year. —Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024

However, evolving social views on the treatment of animals have diminished SeaWorld’s appeal. —Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024

By Chad de Guzman April 3, 2024 1:45 AM EDT South Korea—the world’s poster child for demographic decline—has spent some $280 billion over the past 18 years to address its diminishing birth rate, which recently dropped to a new record-low of 0.72 babies per woman in a lifetime. —Chad De Guzman, TIME, 3 Apr. 2024

Scattered showers could linger into the evening, then should diminish overnight. —Matt Rogers, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

diminish

verb

di·​min·​ish də-ˈmin-ish 

1

: to make less or cause to appear less

2

: to lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of : belittle

3

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

diminishment

-mənt 

noun