lessen

less·en  (lsn)

v. less·ened, less·en·ing, less·ens

v.tr.

1. To make less; reduce.

2. Archaic To make little of; belittle.

v.intr.

To become less; decrease. See Synonyms at decrease.

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[Middle English lessen, lessenen, from lesse, less; see less.]

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lessen

Verb

to make or become less

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	lessen - decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper" decrease, diminish, fall break - diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night" shrivel, shrink - decrease in size, range, or extent; "His earnings shrank"; "My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me" taper - diminish gradually; "Interested tapered off" drop off - fall or diminish; "The number of students in this course dropped off after the first test" vaporize, vanish, fly - decrease rapidly and disappear; "the money vanished in las Vegas"; "all my stock assets have vaporized" break - fall sharply; "stock prices broke" ease off, slacken off, ease up, flag - become less intense change magnitude - change in size or magnitude weaken - become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days" boil down, decoct, concentrate, reduce - be cooked until very little liquid is left; "The sauce should reduce to one cup" shrink, contract - become smaller or draw together; "The fabric shrank"; "The balloon shrank" shrink, shrivel, shrivel up, wither - wither, as with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled" die away, let up, slack off, abate, slack - become less in amount or intensity; "The storm abated"; "The rain let up after a few hours" deflate - become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air; "The balloons deflated" dwindle, dwindle away, dwindle down - become smaller or lose substance; "Her savings dwindled down" remit - diminish or abate; "The pain finally remitted" de-escalate - diminish in size, scope, or intensity; "The war of words between them de-escalated with time" devaluate, devalue, undervalue, depreciate - lose in value; "The dollar depreciated again" shorten - become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten" thin out - become sparser; "Towards the end of town, the houses thinned out" wane, go down, decline - grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned" wane - decrease in phase; "the moon is waning" wane - become smaller; "Interest in his novels waned" decelerate, slow, slow down, slow up, retard - lose velocity; move more slowly; "The car decelerated" decrescendo - grow quieter; "The music decrescendoes here"
	2.	lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff" minify, decrease alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" suppress - reduce the incidence or severity of or stop; "suppress a yawn"; "this drug can suppress the hemorrhage" mitigate - make less severe or harsh; "mitigating circumstances" pare, pare down - decrease gradually or bit by bit circumscribe, confine, limit - restrict or confine, "I limit you to two visits to the pub a day" boil down, concentrate, reduce - cook until very little liquid is left; "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time" shrink, reduce - reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?" abbreviate, abridge, foreshorten, shorten, contract, reduce, cut - reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" abate, slake, slack - make less active or intense lour, lower, turn down - make lower or quieter; "turn down the volume of a radio" de-escalate, step down, weaken - reduce the level or intensity or size or scope of; "de-escalate a crisis" minimize, minimise - make small or insignificant; "Let's minimize the risk" cut down, reduce, trim back, trim down, cut, cut back, trim, bring down - cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits" cut - have a reducing effect; "This cuts into my earnings" slack up, slacken, slack, relax - make less active or fast; "He slackened his pace as he got tired"; "Don't relax your efforts now" diminish, belittle - lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; "don't belittle your colleagues"
	3.	lessen - wear off or die down; "The pain subsided" subside weaken - become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days"

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lessen

verb 1. reduce, lower, diminish, decrease, relax, ease, narrow, moderate, weaken, erode, impair, degrade, minimize, curtail, lighten, wind down, abridge, de-escalate << OPPOSITE increase

verb 2. grow less, diminish, decrease, contract, ease, weaken, shrink, slow down, dwindle, lighten, wind down, die down, abate, slacken

Translations

lessen [ˈlɛsn] vi → disminuir, reducirse

vt → disminuir, reducir

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lessen [ˈlɛsn] less vi → diminuer, s'amoindrir, s'atténuer

vt → diminuer, réduire, atténuer

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lessen [ˈlɛsn] vi → nachlassen, abnehmen

vt → verringern

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lessen [ˈlɛsn] vi → diminuire, attenuarsi

vt → diminuire, ridurre