Other forms: diminished, diminishing, diminishes
To diminish is to shrink steadily in size or importance. Diminish over time, diminished responsibility, diminishing returns.
The law of diminishing returns says each extra unit of effort yields less than the last, which is one of the most useful ideas in economics and in ordinary life. Diminished responsibility is a partial defence in English law reducing murder to manslaughter. Note undiminished; and that to diminish somebody is to belittle them, which is a real and pointed use.
1verbdiminishTo shrink steadily in size or importance.
“His pain diminished slowly as the medicine began to work.”
2verbbelittleTo belittle somebody.
“He diminished her in front of the whole team by mocking her ideas.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
diminish is a lessening.
Also accepted in games: decrease
The word was formed under the influence of Old French diminuer, from Latin deminuere, to lessen, and the older English minish. The two merged into one verb.
Latin
dīminuo
Old French
diminuer
English, today
diminish
Formed under the influence of both diminue (from Old French diminuer, from Latin dīminuo) and minish.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA