decrease

decrease
v. /di krees"/; n. /dee"krees, di krees"/, v., decreased, decreasing, n.
v.i.
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.
v.t.
2. to make less; cause to diminish: to decrease one's work load.
n.
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.
[1350-1400; ME decres (n.), decresen (v.) < OF decreiss-, long s. of decreistre < L decrescere (de- DE- + crescere to grow); see CRESCENT]
Syn. 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.
Ant. 1. increase, expand.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • decrease — I noun abatement, abbreviation, abridgment, alleviation, attenuation, constriction, contraction, curtailment, cut, cutback, deceleration, declension, declination, decline, decline and fall, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, deminutio …   Law dictionary

  • decrease — 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,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Decrease — De*crease , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Decreased}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Decreasing}.] [OE. decrecen, fr. OF. decreistre, F. d[ e]cro[^i]tre, or from the OF. noun (see {Decrease}, n.), fr. L. decrescere to grow less; de + crescere to grow. See {Crescent},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • decrease — [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.;… …   English World dictionary

  • Decrease — De*crease , n. [OE. decrees, OF. decreis, fr. decreistre. See {Decrease}, v.] 1. A becoming less; gradual diminution; decay; as, a decrease of revenue or of strength. [1913 Webster] 2. The wane of the moon. Bacon. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Decrease — De*crease , v. t. To cause to grow less; to diminish gradually; as, extravagance decreases one s means. [1913 Webster] That might decrease their present store. Prior. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • decrease — [n] diminishing, lessening abatement, compression, condensation, constriction, contraction, cutback, decline, declining, decrescence, depression, diminution, discount, downturn, dwindling, ebb, falling off, loss, reduction, shrinkage, striction,… …   New thesaurus

  • decrease — is pronounced with stress on the first syllable as a noun and on the second syllable as a verb …   Modern English usage

  • decrease — ► VERB ▪ make or become smaller or fewer in size, amount, intensity, or degree. ► NOUN 1) an instance of decreasing. 2) the process of decreasing. ORIGIN Latin decrescere, from crescere grow …   English terms dictionary

  • decrease — I UK [diːˈkriːs] / US [dɪˈkrɪs] verb Word forms decrease : present tense I/you/we/they decrease he/she/it decreases present participle decreasing past tense decreased past participle decreased ** Other ways of saying decrease: be/go/come down to… …   English dictionary

  • decrease — ▪ I. decrease de‧crease 2 [ˈdiːkriːs] noun [countable, uncountable] the process of reducing something, or the amount by which it reduces: decrease in • The government announced a 25% decrease in the price of fuel. decrease of • Industrial… …   Financial and business terms

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