diminish

verb

di·​min·​ish də-ˈmi-nish How to pronounce diminish (audio)
diminished; diminishing; diminishes

transitive verb

1
: to make less or cause to appear less
diminish an army's strength
His role in the company was diminished.
2
: to lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of : belittle
diminish a rival's accomplishments
3
architecture : to cause to taper (see taper entry 1 sense 1)
a diminished column

intransitive verb

1
: to become gradually less (as in size or importance) : dwindle
the side effects tend to diminish over time
2
architecture : taper
diminishable adjective
diminishment noun
Choose the Right Synonym for diminish

decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle mean to grow or make less.

decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity.

slowly decreased the amount of pressure

lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number.

has been unable to lessen her debt

diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total.

his visual acuity has diminished

reduce implies a bringing down or lowering.

you must reduce your caloric intake

abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount.

the storm abated

dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller.

their provisions dwindled slowly

Examples of diminish in a Sentence

The strength of the army was greatly diminished by outbreaks of disease. The drug's side effects should diminish over time. Nothing could diminish the importance of his contributions.
Recent Examples on the Web Confidence: Medium-High A look ahead Rain is heavy at times on Saturday, especially in the morning, before slowly diminishing during the afternoon. David Streit, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 Deadlines diminish an invitation, and should therefore only be included (with an apology) if reasonable, unavoidable and reasonably unavoidable. Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024 As the day progresses, the snowfall chance diminishes. David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2024 There are fears, however, the new security law could further erode Hong Kong’s already diminished freedoms and semi-autonomy. Britt Clennett, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024 So when new market developments threaten to diminish or wipe away that revenue stream, PBMs find crafty ways to keep as much of those dollars as possible — often at the expense of employers. Bob Herman, STAT, 18 Mar. 2024 But some community members argued the presence of the lot alongside one of the city's greatest assets would diminish its value in the eyes of many residents. The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024 While fighting these defamation lawsuits, Fox News and the other outlets have argued that Smartmatic’s reputation was already diminished due to these foreign scandals and alleged overseas improprieties — and not because of their lies about the 2020 election. Marshall Cohen, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 If the royals are silent film stars, as British playwright Bonnie Greer once noted, their cast has been dramatically diminished after the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the defection of Prince Harry and Meghan to Montecito, plus the disgracing of Prince Andrew. Michelle Ruiz, Vogue, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'diminish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deminishen, alteration of diminuen, from Anglo-French diminuer, from Late Latin diminuere, alteration of Latin deminuere, from de- + minuere to lessen — more at minor

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of diminish was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near diminish

Cite this Entry

“Diminish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diminish. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

diminish

verb
di·​min·​ish də-ˈmin-ish How to pronounce diminish (audio)
1
: to make less or cause to appear less
2
: to lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of : belittle
3
: to become gradually less (as in size or importance) : dwindle
diminishment noun

More from Merriam-Webster on diminish

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