1
as in decreasing
to make smaller in amount, volume, or extent
we lessened our efforts as it became clear they weren't having an effect
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in diminishing
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually
the pain should begin to lessen within minutes of taking the medication
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in weakening
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
blatant hypocrisy that lessened him in the eyes of the voters
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in reducing
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Dissimilar Words
2
as in depreciation
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lessening
Barbara Kates-Garnick, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
The good news is that GPT-5 will presumably be somewhat less than gushingly friendly, though the lessening might be variable and of a mixed result.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Iran was particularly helpful to Moscow in the early months of the war, providing it with know-how on lessening the pain of sanctions, Lough said.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025
Like President Reagan, those pushing for democracy promotion equated political freedom with strengthening free markets and thereby lessening the attraction abroad to movements—including but not limited to communism—that aimed to redistribute resources to reduce economic inequality.
—Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Because McCarthy’s contract will increase in the next couple of seasons, lessening the amount the front office can spend elsewhere.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
In addition, myokines may dampen cell migration, lessening the risk of cancer spreading (metastasis), thus improving survival rates.
—Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 22 Aug. 2025
Edge computing brings processing power closer to devices, significantly reducing latency and lessening central cloud system loads crucial for processing-intensive tasks despite edge nodes' limited capabilities.
—Hemant Soni, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
For Bermuda, the storm was traveling farther away than expected, lessening the impacts, the government said.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 20 Aug. 2025
Netflix and Amazon were among the companies that considered lessening rates during this year’s haggle, according to media buyers and sales executives with knowledge of the market.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
While appearing radical at the time, the revamping of scientific boards to include more industry representatives, the undoing of power plant rules and the lessening of enforcement hobbled but did not completely undo the agency.
—Barbara Kates-Garnick, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
The good news is that GPT-5 will presumably be somewhat less than gushingly friendly, though the lessening might be variable and of a mixed result.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
Noun
The Patriots must be willing to make adjustments after Sunday’s 20-13 loss to the Raiders, and one of those might be lessening Drake Maye’s workload.
—Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 8 Sep. 2025
Iran was particularly helpful to Moscow in the early months of the war, providing it with know-how on lessening the pain of sanctions, Lough said.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025
Like President Reagan, those pushing for democracy promotion equated political freedom with strengthening free markets and thereby lessening the attraction abroad to movements—including but not limited to communism—that aimed to redistribute resources to reduce economic inequality.
—Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Because McCarthy’s contract will increase in the next couple of seasons, lessening the amount the front office can spend elsewhere.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025
In addition, myokines may dampen cell migration, lessening the risk of cancer spreading (metastasis), thus improving survival rates.
—Bryant Stamford, The Courier-Journal, 22 Aug. 2025
Edge computing brings processing power closer to devices, significantly reducing latency and lessening central cloud system loads crucial for processing-intensive tasks despite edge nodes' limited capabilities.
—Hemant Soni, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
For Bermuda, the storm was traveling farther away than expected, lessening the impacts, the government said.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 20 Aug. 2025
Netflix and Amazon were among the companies that considered lessening rates during this year’s haggle, according to media buyers and sales executives with knowledge of the market.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lessening
Verb
-
The French prime minister was widely expected to lose the motion after failing to win support from political rivals on both the right and left for 2026 budget plans aimed at reducing the country's yawning budget deficit.—
Ganesh Rao,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
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At Tufts University, scientists have developed a new drug that aims to boost weight loss while also reducing the nausea, muscle loss and weight regain associated with popular GLP-1 medications.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Coaxing summer-flowering annuals to flower in fall is hit and miss as nutrient availability is dwindling and hours of daylight are decreasing.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Sep. 2025
-
The central bank is expected to start decreasing rates at its meeting next week after being on pause since December.—
Michelle Fox,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Then the hurricane continued on a more northward path around the islands and finally began weakening after powerful 145 mph winds tapered off.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Total job growth was revised lower by the largest amount in history, The revisions erased 911 thousand jobs over the full year period, adding to mounting concerns of a weakening labor market and fueling questions as to the reliability of monthly data being used to gauge employment.—
JJ Kinahan,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Ignore them, and even disciplined leaders see diminishing returns.—
Julian Hayes II,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Waller announced his decision to retire due to his love of the game diminishing and expressed a desire to grow in the music industry.—
Andrew Wright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
This was followed by varieties of sovereign default, typically involving either a failure to make debt payments and a restructuring of debt terms, or a bout of currency depreciation to inflate away debts denominated in domestic currencies.—
Nathan Lewis,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
-
The result was a sharp dollar depreciation, a stock market collapse, and a surge in bond yields.—
,
CNBC,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
By 2008, Americans were withdrawing, and combat deaths were subsiding to their lowest level since the start of the occupation.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
-
The totals included two new records, coinciding with a subsiding Middle Tennessee heat wave.—
Andy Humbles,
The Tennessean,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
For Mono County, which was issued by NWS Reno, the advisory warned that dense smoke was reducing visibility to 1 mile or less and also degrading air quality.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Design for Choice, Not Chaos Present customers with multiple options, from digital wallets to local payment rails, without degrading user experience.—
Christer Holloman,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The fit is superb, with just a little more room needed below the knee for my aforementioned calves, a slight shortening of the sleeves, and a reduction of the jacket’s center seam to account for my concave back.—
Eric Twardzik,
Robb Report,
6 Sep. 2025
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In contrast, traditional flour tortillas are typically made with white flour, water, a source of fat like vegetable shortening, lard, or oil, salt, and leavening agents like baking powder.—
Jillian Kubala,
Health,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lessening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lessening. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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