Adjacent Words

Diminution definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DIMINUTION, n. [L.]
1. The act of lessening; a making smaller; opposed to augmentation; as the diminution of size, of wealth, of power, of safety.
2. The state of becoming or appearing less; opposed to increase; as the diminution of the apparent diameter of a receding body.
3. Discredit; loss of dignity; degradation.
4. Deprivation of dignity; a lessening of estimation.
5. In architecture, the contraction of the upper part of a column, by which its diameter is made less than that of the lower part.
6. In music, the imitation of or reply to a subject in notes of half the length or value of those of the subject itself.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: change toward something smaller or lower [syn: decline, diminution]
2: the statement of a theme in notes of lesser duration (usually half the length of the original) [ant: augmentation]
3: the act of decreasing or reducing something [syn: decrease, diminution, reduction, step-down] [ant: increase, step-up]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English diminucioun, from Anglo-French diminutiun, from Medieval Latin diminution-, diminutio, alteration of Latin deminution-, deminutio, from deminuere Date: 14th century the act, process, or an instance of diminishing ; decrease

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a the act or an instance of diminishing. b the amount by which something diminishes. 2 Mus. the repetition of a passage in notes shorter than those originally used. Etymology: ME f. OF f. L diminutio - onis (as DIMINISH)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Diminution Dim`i*nu"tion, n. [L. diminutio, or perh. rather deminutio: cf. F. diminution. See Diminish.] 1. The act of diminishing, or of making or becoming less; state of being diminished; reduction in size, quantity, or degree; -- opposed to augmentation or increase. 2. The act of lessening dignity or consideration, or the state of being deprived of dignity; a lowering in estimation; degradation; abasement. The world's opinion or diminution of me. --Eikon Basilike. Nor thinks it diminution to be ranked In military honor next. --Philips.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

A diminution of something is its reduction in size, importance, or intensity. (FORMAL) ...despite a slight diminution in asset value. = reduction N-UNCOUNT: usu N of/in n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Decrease, lessening, decrement, reduction, abatement, contraction.

Moby Thesaurus

abatement, abridgment, allayment, alleviation, analgesia, anesthesia, anesthetizing, appeasement, assuagement, attenuation, attrition, blunting, calming, concavity, contraction, curtailment, cut, cutting, dampening, damping, de-escalation, deadening, debasement, decrease, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, degradation, demotion, demulsion, depletion, depreciation, depression, derogation, descent, detraction, detrusion, diminishment, dip, disparagement, ducking, dulcification, dulling, dying, dying off, ease, easement, easing, extenuation, extraction, fade-out, falling-off, hauling down, hollowness, hushing, impairment, languishment, leniency, lessening, letdown, letup, lightening, loosening, lowering, lulling, miniaturization, mitigation, modulation, mollification, numbing, pacification, palliation, quietening, quieting, reduction, relaxation, relief, remedy, remission, retraction, retrenchment, sagging, salving, scaling down, shortening, shrinkage, simplicity, sinking, slackening, softening, soothing, subduement, submergence, subtraction, tempering, thrusting under, tranquilization, truncation, weakening