lessen decrease
1lessen — *decrease, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle Analogous words: *shorten, curtail, retrench, abridge, abbreviate: shrink, *contract: lighten, mitigate, alleviate (see RELIEVE): *thin, dilute, attenuate …
2decrease — vb Decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle denote to make or grow less, but they are not freely interchangeable. Decrease and lessen are often employed in place of any of the others. Decrease normally retains, even in the transitive,… …
3decrease — I noun abatement, abbreviation, abridgment, alleviation, attenuation, constriction, contraction, curtailment, cut, cutback, deceleration, declension, declination, decline, decline and fall, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, deminutio …
4Lessen — 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… …
5lessen — I verb abate, abbreviate, abridge, abstract, adulterate, allay, alleviate, assuage, attenuate, bate, belittle, boil down, calumniate, censure, check, compress, condense, contract, curb, curtail, cut, cut down, decimate, decline, decrease, decry,… …
6lessen — [les′ən] vt. 1. to make less; decrease 2. Archaic to belittle; minimize; disparage vi. to become less SYN. DECREASE …
7decrease — [dē krēs′, dikrēs′; ] also, & for n. usually [, dē′krēs΄] vi., vt. decreased, decreasing [ME decresen < OFr decreistre < L decrescere < de , from, away + crescere, grow: see CRESCENT] to become or cause to become less, smaller, etc.;… …
8decrease — [n] diminishing, lessening abatement, compression, condensation, constriction, contraction, cutback, decline, declining, decrescence, depression, diminution, discount, downturn, dwindling, ebb, falling off, loss, reduction, shrinkage, striction,… …
9Lessen — 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. [1913 Webster] The objection lessens much, and comes to …
10lessen — [v] lower, reduce abate, abridge, amputate, attenuate, become smaller, clip, close, contract, crop, curtail, cut, cut back, decline, decrease, de escalate, degrade, die down, dilute, diminish, downsize, drain, dwindle, ease, erode, grow less,… …
