diminish
gb/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/ us/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/
B2
Inglés
~ 8300
Acepciones
0 acepciones
Verbo
B2
action
1
become or make smaller/less
To become less, or to make something less in size, amount, importance, or strength.
Patrón de uso:
to diminish [something], or to diminish
Error frecuente:
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.
Sinónimos
decrease (More common and general; very frequent with numbers and amounts in everyday use.)
Antónimos
increase (Means to become or make greater in size, amount, importance, or strength.)
Colocaciones
diminish over time
|diminish gradually
|diminish significantly
|diminish with age
|pain diminishes
|risk diminishes
Temas
science
|business
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Ejemplos
- 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.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- 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.
Patrón de uso:
to diminish [someone/something]
Error frecuente:
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'.
Sinónimos
belittle (Stronger emotional tone; often suggests open disrespect or meanness when talking about a person.)
Antónimos
praise (Means to express approval or admiration, which is the opposite of making someone or something seem less important or less good.)
Colocaciones
diminish someone's achievements
|diminish her contribution
|diminish the significance
|diminish his role
|seek to diminish
|diminish their efforts
Temas
emotions
|social
|work
|communication
|relationships
Ejemplos
- 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.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- 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.
Verbo
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.
Patrón de uso:
to diminish [an interval/chord]
Error frecuente:
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'.
Sinónimos
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.)
Antónimos
augment (In music theory, to 'augment' an interval is to make it larger, often by a semitone, which is the opposite of diminishing it.)
Colocaciones
diminish the fifth
|diminish the interval
|diminish the chord
|diminished fifth
|diminished chord
|diminished seventh
Temas
music
|arts_entertainment
|education
Ejemplos
- 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.
Ejemplos para estudiantes
- 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.
Gramática
Forma de diccionario
diminish
AFI
GB/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/
US/dɪmˈɪnɪʃ/
Sílabas y acento
di - min - ish (3 sílabas)
Stress on 2nd syllable (min)
Formas de la palabra
Verb
- Base: diminish
- 3rd Person Singular: diminishes
- Present Participle: diminishing
- Past: diminished
Familia de palabras
Forms
diminishes
verb
diminishing
verb
diminished
verb
Core family
diminution
noun
Related words
diminutive
adjective
Negative and opposite forms
undiminished
adjective
Expresiones
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.
Ejemplos
- 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.
Ejemplos
- 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.