DIMINISH
decrease, diminish, lessen, fall
(verb) decrease in size, extent, or range; āThe amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semesterā; āThe cabin pressure fell dramaticallyā; āher weight fell to under a hundred poundsā; āhis voice fell to a whisperā
diminish, belittle
(verb) lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; ādonāt belittle your colleaguesā
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
diminish (third-person singular simple present diminishes, present participle diminishing, simple past and past participle diminished)
(transitive) To make smaller.
(intransitive) To become smaller.
(transitive) To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken; to nerf (in gaming).
(intransitive) To taper.
(intransitive) To disappear gradually.
(transitive) To take away; to subtract.
Antonyms
• improve, repair, renovate
Anagrams
• minidish
Source: Wiktionary
Di*min"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diminished; p. pr. & vb. n.
Diminishing.] Etym: [Pref. di- (= L. dis-) + minish: cf. L.
diminuere, F. diminuer, OE. diminuen. See Dis-, and Minish.]
1. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to
lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase.
Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt. Barrow.
2. To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to
abase; to weaken.
This doth nothing diminish their opinion. Robynson (More's Utopia).
I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
Ezek. xxix. 15.
O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars Hide their diminished
heads. Milton.
3. (Mus.)
Definition: To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than
minor; as, a diminished seventh.
4. To take away; to subtract.
Neither shall ye diminish aught from it. Deut. iv. 2.
Diminished column, one whose upper diameter is less than the lower.
– Diminished, or Diminishing, scale, a scale of gradation used in
finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the
volute. Gwilt.
– Diminishing rule (Arch.), a board cut with a concave edge, for
fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft.
– Diminishing stile (Arch.), a stile which is narrower in one part
than in another, as in many glazed doors.
Syn.
– To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail; impair;
degrade. See Decrease.
Di*min"ish, v. i.
Definition: To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the
apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition