Adjacent Words

Lessen definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LESS'EN, v.t. les'n. [from less.]
1. To make less; to diminish; to reduce in bulk, size, quantity, number or amount; to make smaller; as, to lessen a kingdom or its population.
2. To diminish in degree, state of quality; as, awkward manners tend to lessen our respect for men of merit.
3. To degrade; to reduce in dignity.
St. Paul chose to magnify his office, when ill men conspired to lessen it.
LESS'EN, v.i. les'n.
1. To become less; to shrink; to contract in bulk, quantity, number or amount; to be diminished. The apparent magnitude of objects lessens as we recede from them.
2. To become less in degree, quality or intensity; to decrease. The strength of the body, and the vivacity of the temper usually lessen as we advance in age.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: 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" [syn: decrease, diminish, lessen, fall] [ant: increase]
2: make smaller; "He decreased his staff" [syn: decrease, lessen, minify] [ant: increase]
3: wear off or die down; "The pain subsided" [syn: subside, lessen]

Merriam Webster's

verb (lessened; lessening) Date: 13th century intransitive verb to shrink in size, number, or degree ; decrease transitive verb 1. to reduce in size, extent, or degree 2. a. archaic to represent as of little value b. to lower in status or dignity ; degrade Synonyms: see decrease

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. & intr. make or become less, diminish.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lessen Less"en (l[e^]s"'n), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lessened (-'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lessening.] [From Less, a.] To make less; to reduce; to make smaller, or fewer; to diminish; to lower; to degrade; as, to lessen a kingdom, or a population; to lessen speed, rank, fortune. Charity . . . shall lessen his punishment. --Calamy. St. Paul chose to magnify his office when ill men conspired to lessen it. --Atterbury. Syn: To diminish; reduce; abate; decrease; lower; impair; weaken; degrade.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lessen Less"en, v. i. To become less; to shrink; to contract; to decrease; to be diminished; as, the apparent magnitude of objects lessens as we recede from them; his care, or his wealth, lessened. The objection lessens much, and comes to no more than this: there was one witness of no good reputation. --Atterbury.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(lessens, lessening, lessened) If something lessens or you lessen it, it becomes smaller in size, amount, degree, or importance. He is used to a lot of attention from his wife, which will inevitably lessen when the baby is born... Make sure that your immunisations are up to date to lessen the risk of serious illness. ? increase VERB: V, V n • lessening ...increased trade and a lessening of tension on the border. N-UNCOUNT: usu N of/in n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Diminish, decrease, reduce, abate, abridge, make less. 2. Lower, degrade. II. v. n. Decrease, diminish, abate, dwindle, shrink, be reduced.

Moby Thesaurus

abate, ablate, abrade, abridge, abstract, allay, alleviate, allow for, amputate, anesthetize, appease, assuage, attemper, bank the fire, bate, be eaten away, benumb, blunt, chasten, clip, close, color, compress, constrain, consume, consume away, control, corrode, crop, crumble, curtail, cushion, cut, cut back, cut down, damp, dampen, de-emphasize, deaden, deaden the pain, decline, decrease, deduct, deflate, deliquesce, depreciate, depress, derogate, detract, die away, diminish, disparage, dive, downgrade, downplay, drain, drop, drop off, dull, dwindle, ease, ease matters, eat away, ebb, erode, extenuate, extract, fall, fall away, fall off, file away, foment, give relief, gloss over, ignore, impair, keep within bounds, languish, lay, leach, lenify, let up, lighten, lower, lull, make allowance for, melt away, mince, minify, mitigate, moderate, modulate, mollify, numb, obtund, pad, palliate, pare, play down, plummet, plunge, poultice, pour balm into, pour oil on, purify, reduce, reduce the temperature, refine, relieve, remove, restrain, retrench, roll back, rub away, run low, sag, salve, scale down, shorten, shrink, simplify, sink, slacken, slake, slow down, slur over, smother, sober, sober down, soft-pedal, soften, soothe, step down, stifle, stupe, subduct, subdue, subside, subtract, suppress, tail off, take away, take from, tame, temper, thin, thin out, tone down, truncate, tune down, underplay, varnish, wane, waste, waste away, weaken, wear, wear away, weed, whitewash, withdraw