diminished

adjective di·min·ished

|Updated on: 2 Aug 2018

Definition of diminished

of a musical interval

: made one half step less than perfect or minor

a diminished fifth

Recent Examples of diminished from the Web

But as with every year, a slew of eventually noteable acts tossed out their own recordings for the first time to more diminished press.

— kevin rutherford, Billboard, "Eight Less-Heard Debut Efforts From 1998's Rock Rookie Class -- And How They Stack Up Today," 31 May 2018
But if unions’ diminished capacity to fund labor-friendly legislators reshapes the political composition of state governments, even historically blue states could swing toward adopting right-to-work legislation, Bruno said.

— alexia elejalde-ruiz, chicagotribune.com, "Supreme Court's Janus ruling could undercut private-sector unions, too," 9 July 2018
While resentment over Russia’s diminished stature is a key motivator of Mr. Putin’s behavior, so far Russia’s decision-making has been driven largely by opportunism rather than by a grandiose civilizational shift.

— yaroslav trofimov, WSJ, "Russia’s Turn to Its Asian Past," 6 July 2018
And the party is fun and relaxing—beer is for sale, and there are card games and live music—but, honestly, the power of Ii-Epstein's fine play wouldn't be diminished one iota if the party were cut.

— jack helbig, Chicago Reader, "Not One Batu feels torn directly from life," 5 July 2018
The temperatures will be met with clear skies, but chances for diminished air quality.

— courant.com, "Brutal Heat Ahead, But Bacteria Could Close Four State Beaches This Weekend," 29 June 2018
In a sign that buyers were eagerly seeking out properties among a diminished inventory, there was a 17.4 percent surge last month in the sale of homes before construction begins.

— BostonGlobe.com, "FDA approves first prescription drug made from marijuana," 26 June 2018
Popular areas such as Galveston, Texas, Kiawah Island, South Carolina, and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina would be at significant risk of sustained damage and a diminished tax base.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "Coming crisis of coastal flooding: $1 trillion of real estate at risk by 2100," 18 June 2018
While that might be advantageous for studios, the allure of sequels could also lead to diminished creativity in what was once one of movie-going's most unexpectedly ambitious genres.

— brian lowry, CNN, "Will 'The Incredibles 2' bring more power to animated sequels?," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diminished.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.