diminish

Intermediatezipf 3.46

Pronunciation

/dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/(dih-MIN-ish)

Part of speech

verbneutral

Chinese

减少；削弱；贬低（可指数量、价值或重要性的降低）

Definition

To make or become less in size, importance, or value.

Word family

  • diminishing/dɪˈmɪnɪʃɪŋ/(adj)递减的
  • diminution/ˌdɪmɪˈnjuːʃən/(n)减少
  • diminutive/dɪˈmɪnjʊtɪv/(adj)极小的

Collocations

  • diminish in value
  • diminishing returns
  • diminish importance
  • greatly diminished

Examples

  1. 1.The threat of war has diminished over time. (reduce)
  2. 2.Don't diminish her achievements — she worked hard for them. (belittle)

Synonyms

  • decrease/dɪˈkriːs/— neutral reduction
  • lessen/ˈlɛsən/— simple, direct
  • dwindle/ˈdwɪndl/— shrink slowly toward nothing

Etymology

from Latin "diminuere" = to make smaller — "di" (apart) + "minuere" (lessen)