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diminish

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of diminish

1 to express scornfully one's low opinion of

  • tends to diminish any rivalʼs accomplishments with snide remarks
Synonyms of diminish

bad-mouth, belittle, cry down, decry, denigrate, deprecate, depreciate, derogate, 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
Words Related to diminish

discommend

abuse, scold

disapprove (of), dislike

censure, condemn, criticize, denounce, reprehend, reprobate

asperse, defame, malign, rip, slander, slur, traduce, vilify

discredit, disgrace
Phrases Synonymous with diminish

dump on
Near Antonyms of diminish

approve, countenance, endorse (also indorse), favor, recommend, sanction

commend, compliment, eulogize
Antonyms of diminish

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

2 to make smaller in amount, volume, or extent

  • the state's blood supplies were severely diminished by the two consecutive disasters
Synonyms of diminish

abate, de-escalate, decrease, dent, deplete, downscale, downsize, drop, dwindle, ease, knock down, lessen, lower, reduce
Words Related to diminish

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 of diminish

blow up, dilate, distend, inflate, swell

elongate, extend, lengthen, prolong, protract

add (to), complement, supplement

enhance, heighten, intensify

redouble
Antonyms of diminish

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

3 to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually

  • the sound of the train diminished as our distance from it increased
Synonyms of diminish

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
Words Related to diminish

compress, condense, constrict, contract

evaporate, fade (away), fritter (away), give out, melt (away), peter (out), tail (off), vanish

slacken, slow (down)

alleviate, relax

flag, sink, weaken

cave (in), collapse, deflate
Near Antonyms of diminish

appear, emerge, show up

blow up, distend, elongate, lengthen
Antonyms of diminish

accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon (also bourgeon), enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mount, mushroom, pick up, rise, snowball, soar, swell, wax

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

Learn More about diminish

  1. See words that rhyme with diminish Dictionary: Definition of diminish Spanish Central: Translation of diminish Nglish: Translation of diminish for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of diminish for Arabic speakers

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