01 v. t. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase.
imp. & p. p.
Diminished; p. pr. & vb. n.
Diminishing
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1.
To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase.“Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt.” — Barrow.
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2.
To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken.“This doth nothing diminish their opinion.” — Robynson (More's Utopia).“I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.” — Ezek. xxix. 15.“O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars Hide their diminished heads.” — Milton.
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3.
To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh.(Mus.)
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4.
To take away; to subtract.“Neither shall ye diminish aught from it.” — Deut. iv. 2.
Phrases & compounds
Diminished column —
one whose upper diameter is less than the lower.
Diminished scale —
a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute.
Diminishing rule —
a board cut with a concave edge, for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft.
Diminishing stile —
a stile which is narrower in one part than in another, as in many glazed doors.