What does diminish mean?

Definitions for diminish
dɪˈmɪn ɪʃdi·min·ish

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word diminish.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. decrease, diminish, lessen, fallverb

    decrease in size, extent, or range

    "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"

  2. diminish, belittleverb

    lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of

    "don't belittle your colleagues"

Wiktionary

  1. diminishverb

    To make smaller.

  2. diminishverb

    To become smaller.

  3. diminishverb

    To taper.

  4. diminishverb

    To disappear gradually.

  5. diminishverb

    To reduce a perfect or minor interval by a semitone.

  6. Etymology: From diminuer.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To DIMINISHverb

    Etymology: diminuo, Latin.

    That we call good which is apt to cause or increase pleasure, or diminish pain in us. John Locke.

    Impiously they thought
    Thee to diminish, and from thee withdraw
    The number of thy worshippers. John Milton, Paradise Lost.

    Nothing was diminished from the safety of the king by the imprisonment of the duke. John Hayward.

    Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish aught from it. Deut. iv. 2.

  2. To Diminishverb

    To grow less; to be impaired.

    What judgment I had increases rather than diminishes; and thoughts, such as they are, come crowding in so fast upon me, that my only difficulty is to chuse or to reject. Dryden.

    Crete’s ample fields diminish to our eye;
    Before the Boreal blasts the vessels fly. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.

ChatGPT

  1. diminish

    Diminish means to make or become less, decrease in size, quantity, quality, or intensity, or reduce the importance or impact of something.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Diminishverb

    to make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase

  2. Diminishverb

    to lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken

  3. Diminishverb

    to make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh

  4. Diminishverb

    to take away; to subtract

  5. Diminishverb

    to become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Diminish

    di-min′ish, v.t. to make less: to take a part from: to degrade.—v.i. to grow or appear less: to subside.—adj. Dimin′ishable.—p.adj. Dimin′ished, made smaller, humbled: (mus.) lessened by a half-step, as an interval.—adv. Dimin′ishingly. [Coined by adding di to the word minish, an imitation of L. diminuĕredi = dis, apart, minuĕre, to make less.]

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. diminish

    In a military sense, means to decrease the front of a battalion; to adopt the columns of march, or manœuvre according to the obstructions and difficulties which it meets in advancing.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'diminish' in Verbs Frequency: #903

How to pronounce diminish?

How to say diminish in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of diminish in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of diminish in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of diminish in a Sentence

  1. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan:

    Terror organizations and their pawns are targeting our innocent citizens in the most immoral and heartless way as they lose the fight against our security forces, terror attacks -- which intend to target the integrity of Turkey, unity and solidarity of our people -- do not diminish our will to fight against terror, but further boost it.

  2. Ralph Sacco:

    When the authors controlled for hypertension and diabetes and obesity the effects diminish, which implies that some of the effects of artificially sweetened beverages could still be going through a vascular pathway.

  3. Jonny Fine:

    When polling data starts to come out after the conventions and through the summer weeks, that will potentially diminish risk taking in the market place - likely as we move into later September, that's why we will see robust issuance in the next two to three weeks, as many issuers want to avoid being in the midst of a potentially volatile September or October.

  4. Rex Tillerson:

    I know change like this is really stressful for a lot of peple, there's nothing easy about it, and I don't want to diminish the challenges in any way it presents to individuals, it presents to families, it presents to organizations. All I can offer you on the other side of that equation is an opportunity to shape the future way we deliver on mission.

  5. John Dermody:

    The administration will see this as part of a broader concern about China investing in countries as a threat to make potentially those countries beholden to China or indebted to China and to diminish the United Statess influence in the Western Hemisphere, and I would say that the concern is particularly acute where the investment is going to be in information technology. And in light of the catastrophic damage of the Bahamas, I think that is going to be an issue.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

diminish#10000#21475#100000

Translations for diminish

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • خسArabic
  • отслабвам, заострям, намалявамBulgarian
  • zmenšitCzech
  • vermindern, verringern, abschwächen, verkleinern, schrumpfen, reduzieren, schmällernGerman
  • maldikiĝi, malgrandiĝi, plimalgrandiĝi, mallarĝiĝiEsperanto
  • disminuir, diminuirSpanish
  • pienentää, pienentyä, kaventuaFinnish
  • diminuer, amincir, rapetisser, rétrécir, réduireFrench
  • घटानाHindi
  • պակասելArmenian
  • diminutarIdo
  • ridurre, diminuireItalian
  • 減少するJapanese
  • dēdūcō, diminuo, minuoLatin
  • sumažintiLithuanian
  • samazinātLatvian
  • whakamimitiMāori
  • verlagen, verkleinen, afnemen, verminderenDutch
  • diminuirPortuguese
  • huch'uiyay, chikachay, huch'uiyachiy, asllayachiyQuechua
  • уме́ньшиться, уменьша́ться, уме́ньшить, уменьша́тьRussian
  • minskaSwedish
  • azaltmakTurkish

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"diminish." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/diminish>.

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    excessively agitated; distraught with fear or other violent emotion
    A plush
    B frantic
    C occasional
    D victimised

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