Diminish word meaning and definition

[verb] decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fall to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper"
[verb] lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; "don't belittle your colleagues"

\Di*min"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Diminished}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Diminishing}.] [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.) 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. To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it.

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