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decrease

 - 3 dictionary results

de⋅crease

  [v. di-krees; n. dee-krees, di-krees] verb, -creased, -creas⋅ing, noun
Use decrease in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to diminish or lessen in extent, quantity, strength, power, etc.: During the ten-day march across the desert their supply of water decreased rapidly.
–verb (used with object)
2. to make less; cause to diminish: to decrease one's work load.
–noun
3. the act or process of decreasing; condition of being decreased; gradual reduction: a decrease in sales; a decrease in intensity.
4. the amount by which a thing is lessened: The decrease in sales was almost 20 percent.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME decres (n.), decresen (v.) < OF decreiss-, long s. of decreistre < L dēcrēscere (dē- de- + crēscere to grow); see crescent

Synonyms:
1. wane, lessen, fall off, decline, contract, abate. Decrease, diminish, dwindle, shrink imply becoming smaller or less in amount. Decrease commonly implies a sustained reduction in stages, esp. of bulk, size, volume, or quantity, often from some imperceptible cause or inherent process: The swelling decreased daily. Diminish usually implies the action of some external cause that keeps taking away: Disease caused the number of troops to diminish steadily. Dwindle implies an undesirable reduction by degrees, resulting in attenuation: His followers dwindled to a mere handful. Shrink esp. implies contraction through an inherent property under specific conditions: Many fabrics shrink in hot water. 3. abatement, decline, subsidence, shrinking, dwindling, ebbing.

Antonyms:
1. increase, expand.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To decrease
de·crease   (dĭ-krēs')   
intr. & tr.v.   de·creased, de·creas·ing, de·creas·es
To grow or cause to grow gradually less or smaller, as in number, amount, or intensity.
n.   (dē'krēs')

  1. The act or process of decreasing.

  2. The amount by which something decreases.


[Middle English decresen, from Old French decreistre, decreiss-, from Latin dēcrēscere : dē-, de- + crēscere, to grow; see ker-2 in Indo-European roots.]
de·creas'ing·ly adv.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to become or cause to become smaller or less. Decrease and lessen refer to steady or gradual diminution: Lack of success decreases confidence. His appetite lessens as his illness progresses.
Reduce emphasizes bringing down in size, degree, or intensity: The workers reduced their wage demands.
Dwindle suggests decreasing bit by bit to a vanishing point: Their savings dwindled away.
Abate stresses a decrease in amount or intensity and suggests a reduction of excess: Toward evening the fire began to abate.
Diminish implies taking away or removal: The warden's authority diminished after the revolt.
Subside implies a falling away to a more normal level: The wild enthusiasm aroused by the team's victory did not subside for days.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

decrease 
1383, from O.Fr. pp. stem of descreistre, from L. decrescere, from de- "away from" + crescere "to grow" (see crescent).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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