DIMINISH • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Diminish

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/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/ Listen

verb

Diminish v. t. (past & past part. diminished; pres. part. diminishing)

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."

2.

To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken. "This doth nothing diminish their opinion." "I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations." "O thou... at whose sight all the stars Hide their diminished heads."

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."

Diminished column, one whose upper diameter is less than the lower.

Diminished scale, or Diminishing scale, a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute.

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.

Synonyms: To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail; impair; degrade. See Decrease.

Diminish 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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Etymology of 'Diminish'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Diminish" Quotes from Famous Books

... then become hereditary, in some cases only when propagated by buds, in other cases by seed. These cases have been produced suddenly by accident in early growth, but it is part of law of growth that when any organ is not used it tends to diminish (duck's wing{170}?) muscles of dog's ears, rabbits, muscles wither, arteries grow up. When eye born defective, optic nerve (Tuco Tuco) is atrophied. As every part whether useful or not (diseases, double flowers) tends to ...

— The Foundations of the Origin of Species - Two Essays written in 1842 and 1844 • Charles Darwin

... adventitiously separated! The Rich solace themselves in a fancied exemption from the miseries and ignominy which attach to the Poor, though their daily experience of the caprice of fortune ought to teach them, that, while they have the power, it would be wiser to diminish the contrast by ameliorating the condition of Poverty! How glorious is the spectacle afforded by the contrast of civilized society, with the wretched condition of savages, though that justly admired civilization ...

— A Morning's Walk from London to Kew • Richard Phillips

... that the hygiene of food means "giving up all the things that taste good." While it is true that, in many cases, sacrifices have to be made, the net result of reforming one's diet is not to diminish but to increase the enjoyment of food. In general, it is extremely unhygienic to eat foods which are not relished. Experiments by Pavlov and others have shown that the taste and enjoyment of food stimulate the flow ...

— How to Live - Rules for Healthful Living Based on Modern Science • Irving Fisher and Eugene Fisk

... learnt at Charenton that General Vinoy, with 15,000 men, was to advance from between the southern forts to attack Ville Juif and the heights of Mesly, so as to induce a concentration of the enemy in that direction, and so to diminish the difficulties of ...

— A Girl of the Commune • George Alfred Henty

... subject; and even in decorating a church was reproved for "falling short of the standard of chastity" required. But between the extremes of brutality and conventionalism there is such a wide expanse of pure joy of painting that nothing can diminish the reputation of Goya, however much it is likely to be enhanced. To the modern Spanish painter he is probably as ...

— Six Centuries of Painting • Randall Davies

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