Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To make smaller or less; reduce or lessen. synonym: decrease.
- intransitive verb To detract from the authority, reputation, or prestige of.
- intransitive verb To cause to taper.
- intransitive verb Music To reduce (a perfect or minor interval) by a semitone.
- intransitive verb To become smaller or less.
- intransitive verb To taper.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To taper, as a column.
- To lessen; make or seem to make less or smaller by any means; reduce: opposed to increase and augment: as, to
diminish a number by subtraction; to diminish the revenue by reducing the customs. - To lower in power, importance, or estimation; degrade; belittle; detract from.
- To take away; subtract: with from, and applied to the object removed.
- In music, to lessen by a semitone, as an interval.
- To lessen; become or appear less or smaller; dwindle: as, the prospect of success is diminishing by delay.
- Synonyms Dwindle, Contract, etc. (see
decrease ); to shrink, subside, abate, ebb, fall off.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen.
- transitive verb To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to
augment orincrease . - transitive verb To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken.
- transitive verb (Mus.) To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor.
- transitive verb To take away; to subtract.
- transitive verb one whose upper diameter is less than the lower.
- transitive verb a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute.
- transitive verb (Arch.) a board cut with a concave edge, for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft.
- transitive verb (Arch.) a stile which is narrower in one part than in another, as in many glazed doors.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To make
smaller . - verb intransitive To become
smaller . - verb intransitive To
taper . - verb intransitive To
disappear gradually. - verb transitive, music To
reduce aperfect orminor interval by asemitone .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb decrease in size, extent, or range
- verb lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The Dative of Reference denotes the person _to whom a statement refers, of whom it is true_, or _to whom it is of interest; _ as, -- mihi ante oculōs versāris, _you hover before my eyes_ (lit. _hover before the eyes to me_); illī sevēritās amōrem nōn dēminuit, _in his case severity did not diminish love_ (lit. _to him severity did not diminish_); interclūdere inimīcīs commeātum, _to cut of the supplies of the enemy.
New Latin Grammar Charles E. Bennett
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"Uncharted 2" or "BioShock 2," I'm not going to let that number in the title diminish my enjoyment.
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It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
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It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
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It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
-
It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
-
It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
-
It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
-
It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
-
It is a known fact that the quantities of chemicals secreted by the brain diminish astronomically from the early 20's to late 70's.
Learning Spanish 2005
Comments
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