diminishing
(adjective) becoming smaller or less or appearing to do so; “diminishing returns”; “his diminishing respect for her”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
diminishing (comparative more diminishing, superlative most diminishing)
becoming smaller
diminishing
present participle of diminish
diminishing (plural diminishings)
A diminishment.
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
20 June 2025
(adjective) marked by simplicity; having a humble opinion of yourself; “a modest apartment”; “too modest to wear his medals”
The first coffee-house in Mecca dates back to the 1510s. The beverage was in Turkey by the 1530s. It appeared in Europe circa 1515-1519 and was introduced to England by 1650. By 1675 the country had more than 3,000 coffee houses, and coffee had replaced beer as a breakfast drink.
