diminish
gb/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/ us/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/
B2
Angličtina
~ 8300
Významy
0 významů
Sloveso
B2
action
1
become or make smaller/less
To become less, or to make something less in size, amount, importance, or strength.
Vzorec užití:
to diminish [something], or to diminish
Častá chyba:
Learners sometimes use 'diminish' only in the pattern 'diminish something' and forget it can also be used without an object (e.g. 'The pain diminished'). Some also confuse it with 'reduce' and try to say 'diminish down', which is incorrect; 'diminish' already means 'become/make less' on its own.
Synonyma
decrease (More common and general; very frequent with numbers and amounts in everyday use.)
Antonyma
increase (Means to become or make greater in size, amount, importance, or strength.)
Kolokace
diminish over time
|diminish gradually
|diminish significantly
|diminish with age
|pain diminishes
|risk diminishes
Témata
science
|business
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Příklady
- Her back pain gradually diminished after a few weeks of physiotherapy.
- The excitement of the crowd did not diminish as the concert went on.
- The company’s profits have diminished since the new competitor entered the market.
- As the sun rose, the brightness of the stars diminished.
- Over time, the benefits of the treatment may diminish.
Učební příklady
- The noise from the street slowly diminished at night.
- The doctor gave him medicine to diminish the pain.
- Our savings diminished after we paid for the repairs.
- His fear diminished when he saw his friends.
- The risk of infection diminishes if you wash your hands often.
unknown
C1
action
2
make someone/something seem less important
To say or do something that makes a person or thing seem less important, less good, or less valuable.
Vzorec užití:
to diminish [someone/something]
Častá chyba:
Learners sometimes confuse this meaning with the basic 'become less' meaning and say things like '*Her value diminished him*', which is incorrect. Here 'diminish' usually takes a person or an abstract noun like 'role', 'importance', or 'achievements' as its object (e.g. 'diminish his role', 'diminish her achievements'). It is also weaker and more polite than 'insult' or 'humiliate'.
Synonyma
belittle (Stronger emotional tone; often suggests open disrespect or meanness when talking about a person.)
Antonyma
praise (Means to express approval or admiration, which is the opposite of making someone or something seem less important or less good.)
Kolokace
diminish someone's achievements
|diminish her contribution
|diminish the significance
|diminish his role
|seek to diminish
|diminish their efforts
Témata
emotions
|social
|work
|communication
|relationships
Příklady
- Nothing in his speech was meant to diminish her achievements.
- She felt that the review unfairly diminished the importance of her research.
- Jokes like that only serve to diminish people who are already marginalized.
- The manager’s comments diminished the team’s hard work on the project.
- He tried to diminish his opponent’s success during the debate.
Učební příklady
- He did not want to diminish her success in any way.
- The article seemed to diminish the work of the nurses.
- His words diminished my confidence.
- We should not diminish the problems that young people face.
- The teacher told the class not to diminish other students’ ideas.
Sloveso
technical
C2
action
3
make a musical interval smaller
In music, to make the distance between two notes smaller by a half step, or to make a diminished chord.
Vzorec užití:
to diminish [an interval/chord]
Častá chyba:
Learners who know the general meaning of 'diminish' sometimes think this musical sense is just metaphorical. In music, however, it is a precise technical term for changing intervals and chords, not simply 'making the sound weaker'.
Synonyma
flatten (In music, 'flatten' means to lower a note by a semitone; it overlaps in effect but does not specifically refer to creating a diminished interval or chord.)
Antonyma
augment (In music theory, to 'augment' an interval is to make it larger, often by a semitone, which is the opposite of diminishing it.)
Kolokace
diminish the fifth
|diminish the interval
|diminish the chord
|diminished fifth
|diminished chord
|diminished seventh
Témata
music
|arts_entertainment
|education
Příklady
- If you diminish the fifth in this triad, you create a diminished chord.
- The composer chose to diminish the interval here to increase tension before the resolution.
- In bar twelve, diminish the seventh to lead smoothly into the next key.
- Jazz harmony often diminishes certain intervals to produce a darker color.
- Students learned how to diminish a major triad to make it sound unstable.
Učební příklady
- In this exercise, you must diminish the third note.
- The teacher showed us how to diminish the fifth to make a new chord.
- When you diminish the interval, the notes sound closer together.
- This song uses many diminished chords, where the composer diminishes some intervals.
- We practiced diminishing a perfect fifth to create a diminished fifth.
Gramatika
Slovníkový tvar
diminish
IPA
GB/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/
US/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/
Slabiky a přízvuk
di - min - ish (3 slabiky)
Stress on 2nd syllable (min)
Tvary slova
Verb
- Base: diminish
- 3rd Person Singular: diminishes
- Present Participle: diminishing
- Past: diminished
Příbuzná slova
Forms
diminishes
verb
diminishing
verb
diminished
verb
Core family
diminution
noun
Related words
diminutive
adjective
Negative and opposite forms
undiminished
adjective
Výrazy
diminished responsibility
1/dɪmˈɪnɪʃt ɹispˌɑnsɪbˈɪləti/
fixed phrase
technical
reduced legal blame due to mind
In law, a condition where a person is judged less responsible for a crime because their mind was not fully normal when it happened.
Příklady
- The defendant’s lawyers argued that he was suffering from a mental illness and should be granted diminished responsibility.
- The court accepted a plea of diminished responsibility, and the charge was reduced from murder to manslaughter.
- Expert witnesses were called to discuss whether her depression amounted to diminished responsibility.
diminishing returns
1/dɪmˈɪnɪʃɪŋ ɹɪtˈɚnz/
fixed phrase
extra effort gives smaller extra results
A situation where, after a certain point, doing more of something gives you smaller and smaller extra benefits.
Příklady
- If you study all night, you quickly reach a point of diminishing returns where you stop learning much.
- The company invested more in advertising but began to see diminishing returns on each new campaign.
- After three hours at the gym, he was clearly hitting diminishing returns and decided to go home.