lessen
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lessen
to cause to decrease; to belittle; to become less; reduce: The pain will lessen with time.
Not to be confused with:
lesson – something to be learned; a class; a teaching: The lesson is to look before you leap.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
less·en
(lĕs′ən)v. less·ened, less·en·ing, less·ens
v.tr.
1. To make less; reduce. See Synonyms at decrease.
2. Archaic To make little of; belittle.
v.intr.
To become less; decrease: interest that lessened as the lecture continued.
[Middle English lessen, lessenen, from lesse, less; see less.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
lessen
(ˈlɛsən)vb
1. to make or become less
2. (tr) to make little of
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
less•en
(ˈlɛs ən)v.i.
1. to become less.
v.t. 2. to reduce.
[1375–1425]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
lessen
- alleviate - Can mean "diminish the weight of"; to alleviate is not to cure, but rather to lighten, lessen, or relieve to some degree.
- minute, second - Latin minutus, "small," came from minuere, "lessen," and the term pars minuta prima, "first small part," was applied to a 60th of a whole—a minute, originally of a circle and later of an hour; likewise, a second was originally a secunda minuta, a 60th of a 60th.
- mince - Can mean "lessen or diminish (something)" or "minimize."
- bated breath - The expression is based on bate, meaning "to moderate, restrain" or "to lessen, diminish"; though bated was once rather common, it is now rare except in this set expression.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
lessen
Past participle: lessened
Gerund: lessening
| Imperative |
|---|
| lessen |
| lessen |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Verb | 1. | lessen - decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper" break - diminish or discontinue abruptly; "The patient's fever broke last night" shrivel, shrink - decrease in size, range, or extent; "His earnings shrank"; "My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me" taper - diminish gradually; "Interested tapered off" drop off - fall or diminish; "The number of students in this course dropped off after the first test" vaporize, vanish, fly - decrease rapidly and disappear; "the money vanished in las Vegas"; "all my stock assets have vaporized" break - fall sharply; "stock prices broke" change magnitude - change in size or magnitude weaken - become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days" boil down, decoct, concentrate, reduce - be cooked until very little liquid is left; "The sauce should reduce to one cup" shrink, shrivel, shrivel up, wither - wither, as with a loss of moisture; "The fruit dried and shriveled" die away, let up, slack off, abate, slack - become less in amount or intensity; "The storm abated"; "The rain let up after a few hours" deflate - become deflated or flaccid, as by losing air; "The balloons deflated" remit - diminish or abate; "The pain finally remitted" de-escalate - diminish in size, scope, or intensity; "The war of words between them de-escalated with time" shorten - become short or shorter; "In winter, the days shorten" thin out - become sparser; "Towards the end of town, the houses thinned out" wane - decrease in phase; "the moon is waning" wane - become smaller; "Interest in his novels waned" decrescendo - grow quieter; "The music decrescendoes here" |
| 2. |  lessen - make smaller; "He decreased his staff"alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" suppress - reduce the incidence or severity of or stop; "suppress a yawn"; "this drug can suppress the hemorrhage" mitigate - make less severe or harsh; "mitigating circumstances" boil down, concentrate, reduce - cook until very little liquid is left; "The cook reduced the sauce by boiling it for a long time" shrink, reduce - reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?" abbreviate, abridge, foreshorten, shorten, contract, reduce, cut - reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" de-escalate, step down, weaken - reduce the level or intensity or size or scope of; "de-escalate a crisis" cut down, reduce, trim back, trim down, cut, cut back, trim, bring down - cut down on; make a reduction in; "reduce your daily fat intake"; "The employer wants to cut back health benefits" cut - have a reducing effect; "This cuts into my earnings" | |
| 3. | lessen - wear off or die down; "The pain subsided" weaken - become weaker; "The prisoner's resistance weakened after seven days" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
lessen
verb
1. reduce, lower, diminish, decrease, relax, ease, narrow, moderate, weaken, erode, impair, degrade, minimize, curtail, lighten, wind down, abridge, de-escalate Keep immunisations up to date to lessen the risk of serious illness.
reduce increase, raise, boost, expand, add to, enhance, enlarge, multiply, magnify, augment
reduce increase, raise, boost, expand, add to, enhance, enlarge, multiply, magnify, augment
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
lessen
verb1. To grow or cause to grow gradually less:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُقَلِّل
snížitzmenšit
formindske
kisebbítcsökkencsökkentkisebbedik
minnka
zmanjšati se
minska
azal mak
lessen
[ˈlesn]A. VT [+ risk, danger] → reducir; [+ pain] → aliviar; [+ cost, stature] → rebajar
it will lessen your chances of getting the job → disminuirá las posibilidades que tienes de conseguir el puesto
it will lessen your chances of getting the job → disminuirá las posibilidades que tienes de conseguir el puesto
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
lessen
vt
(= make less) → verringern; cost → senken, vermindern; effect, impact → vermindern, abschwächen; pain → lindern
(= make seem less important etc) → herabsetzen, herabwürdigen
vi → nachlassen; (danger, wind, enthusiasm, difficulty also) → abnehmen; (value of money) → sich verringern, abnehmen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
lessen
[ˈlɛsn]1. vt (gen) → diminuire, ridurre; (pain) → alleviare; (cost, tension) → ridurre; (shock) → attutire, attenuare
2. vi (gen) → diminuire, ridursi; (shock) → attenuarsi
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
less
(les) adjective (often with than) not as much (as). Think of a number less than forty; He drank his tea and wished he had put less sugar in it; The salary for that job will be not less than $30,000.
adverb not as much or to a smaller extent. I like her less every time I see her; You should smoke less if you want to remain healthy.
pronoun a smaller part or amount. He has less than I have.
preposition minus. He earns $280 a week less $90 income tax.
ˈlessen verb to make or become less. The fan lessened the heat a little; When the children left, the noise lessened considerably.
ˈlesser adjective smaller or not as important. the lesser of the two towns.
adverb less. the lesser-known streets of London.
the less … the less/moreetc . The less I see of him, the better (pleased I'll be)!; The less I practise, the less confident I become; The less I try, the more I succeed.
no less a person etc thanas great a person etc as: I had tea with no less a person than the Prime Minister
less is used in speaking about quantity or amount: People should eat less fat ; I've less than $100 in the bank . fewer sould be used in speaking about numbers of individual things or people: I've fewer books than he has ; There were fewer than 50 people at the meeting .
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
lessen
v. aliviar, aminorar, disminuir, acortar;
a pill to ___ the pain → una pastilla para ___ el dolor.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012