List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 104

SYNONYMS: decrease, lessen, reduce, dwindle, abate, diminish, subside.
These verbs mean to become or cause to become smaller or less.

Decrease and lessen, interchangeable in most contexts, refer to steady or gradual diminution: Traffic decreases on holidays. Lack of success decreases confidence. Use your seat belt to lessen the danger of injury in an accident. His appetite lessens as his illness progresses.
Reduce emphasizes bringing down, as 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. Nothing can abate the force of that argument.
Diminish implies taking away or removal: An occasional outburst didn't diminish my respect for her. The warden's authority diminished after the revolt by the prisoners.
Subside implies a falling away to a more normal level: The wild enthusiasm the team's victory aroused did not subside.