diminish (redirected from the law of diminishing returns)

di·min·ish  (d-mnsh)

v. di·min·ished, di·min·ish·ing, di·min·ish·es

v.tr.

1.

a. To make smaller or less or to cause to appear so.

b. To detract from the authority, reputation, or prestige of.

2. To cause to taper.

3. Music To reduce (a perfect or minor interval) by a semitone.

v.intr.

1. To become smaller or less. See Synonyms at decrease.

2. To taper.

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[Middle English diminishen, blend of diminuen, to lessen (from Old French diminuer, from Latin dminuere, variant of dminuere : d-, de- + minuere, to lessen) and minishen, to reduce (from Old French minuiser, from Vulgar Latin *mintire, from Latin mintia, smallness, from mintus, small, from ); see mei-² in Indo-European roots.]

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di·minish·a·ble adj.

di·minish·ment n.

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diminish

Verb

1. to make or become smaller, fewer, or less

2. Music to decrease (a minor interval) by a semitone

3. to reduce in authority or status [Latin deminuere to make smaller + archaic minish to lessen]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	diminish - 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, lessen, 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.	diminish - lessen the authority, dignity, or reputation of; "don't belittle your colleagues" belittle minify, decrease, lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"

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diminish

verb 1. decrease, decline, lessen, contract, weaken, shrink, dwindle, wane, recede, subside, ebb, taper, die out, fade away, abate, peter out << OPPOSITE grow

2. reduce, cut, decrease, lessen, contract, lower, weaken, curtail, abate, retrench << OPPOSITE increase

verb 3. belittle, scorn, devalue, undervalue, deride, demean, denigrate, scoff at, disparage, decry, sneer at, underrate, deprecate, depreciate, cheapen, derogate

Translations

diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] vt, vi → disminuir

diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] vt, vi → diminuer

diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] vi → sich verringern

vt → verringern

diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ] vt, vi → diminuire

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diminish

v diminish [diˈminiʃ]

to make or become less Our supplies are diminishing rapidly. verminder يَقِلُّ омаловажавам zmenšit se, zkrátit se formindske vermindern μειώνω, μειώνομαι disminuir kahandama, kahanema کم شدن؛ کاستن vähentää, vähetä diminuer לִקטוֹן, לְהָקטִין घटाना splasnuti, oslabiti csökken(t) mengurangi minnka, rÿra diminuire 減少させる 줄다; 줄이다 mažėti, mažinti samazināt; samazināties menyusut (doen) slinken (for)minske, redusere, skjære ned på zmniejszać, maleć a (se) diminua, a (se) împuţina уменьшать(ся) zmenšiť sa zmanjšati (se) smanjiti []minska, avta ทำให้น้อยลง azal(t)mak 減少 зменшувати(ся); убувати گھٹنا یا گھٹانا hạ bớt, giảm bớt 减少

adj diˈminished

(negative undiminished). verminder, inkrimp مُقَلَّل омаловажен zmenšený formindsket vermindert μειωμένος reducido vähendatud کاسته شده vähentynyt diminué מוּפחָת घटा हुआ umanjen, oslabljen csökkentett berkurang minnkaður diminuito 減少した 감소된 sumažintas samazināts menyusut verminderd (for)minsket, redusert zmniejszony diminuído diminuat уменьшенный zmenšený zmanjšan smanjen []minskad ซึ่งทำให้น้อยลง kısaltılmış 減少的 зменшений; принижений تخفیف شدہ bị giảm đi 减少的