Dictionary

diminution en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /dɪmɪˈnjuːʃən/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English diminucioun, from Anglo-Norman diminuciun, Old French diminucion, from Latin dīminūtiō.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A lessening, decrease or reduction.
   • Cold is usually shapeless, I suppose, extending over large spaces equally, or with gradual diminution. 1860, John Ruskin, chapter 1, in Modern Painters […], volume V, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, part VII (Of Cloud Beauty), § 9, page 111:
   • The new emission standards have produced a measurable diminution in air pollution.
   • Scenic illusions such as those caused by the haze, or the apparent diminution of scale where everything was enormous, intrigued Dutton. 1954, Wallace Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West, Houghton Mifflin, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 170:
   • Another part, feeling a diminution of confidence in him, still hope that the general tenor of his conduct will be essentially right. 1800 October 24, Alexander Hamilton, “Letter from Alexander Hamilton, Concerning the Public Conduct and Character of John Adams, Esq. President of the United States”, in Harold C. Syrett, editor, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, volumes 25, July 1800 – April 1802, New York: Columbia University Press, published 1962, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 187:
2. (countable, uncountable) The act or process of making diminutive.
3. (countable, uncountable) a compositional technique where the composer shortens the melody by shortening its note values.

Forms

Antonyms

augmentation

Relateds

diminuendo · diminished · diminish

Synonyms

decrease · decrement · shrinking · diminishment (lessening, decrease) · abatement · decline · reduction · declension · lessening · diminution

Translations (16)

sv förminskning (lessening, decrease or reduction) · grc μείωσις (lessening, decrease or reduction) · ro diminuare (lessening, decrease or reduction) · cs zmenšení (lessening, decrease or reduction) · ro micșorare (lessening, decrease or reduction) · es disminución (lessening, decrease or reduction) · ro scădere (lessening, decrease or reduction) · bg намаляване (lessening, decrease or reduction) · it diminuzione (lessening, decrease or reduction) · bg намаление (lessening, decrease or reduction) · cs snížení (lessening, decrease or reduction) · de Rückgang (lessening, decrease or reduction) · ga laghdú (lessening, decrease or reduction) · ang wanung (lessening, decrease or reduction) · mi ero (lessening, decrease or reduction) · mi tuaititanga (lessening, decrease or reduction)