diminish

verb diminishes · diminishing · diminished

1. transitive To make smaller. The existence of many nations and national characters is part of the cultural wealth of mankind, and there is no reason to seek to diminish their number.
2. intransitive To become less or smaller. Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine.[…]One thing that is true, though, is that murder rates have fallen over the centuries, as policing has spread and the routine carrying of weapons has diminished. Modern society may n
3. transitive To make appear smaller than in reality; to dismiss as unimportant. Although British involvement in the slave trade prior to 1807 cannot be denied, or its effects diminished, it is also a fact that the Royal Navy was pretty much the only force in the world in the 19th century with the numbers, drive, willingness, firepower, and capability to curtail the global slave
4. transitive To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken; to nerf (in gaming). It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations: for I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
5. intransitive To taper. The chair and table legs diminished as they neared the ground, and were straight and square in all their corners.
6. intransitive To disappear gradually. ‘Good evening, good evening,’ Father Rank called. His stride lengthened and he caught a foot in his soutane and stumbled as he went by. ‘A storm’s coming up,’ he said. ‘Got to hurry,’ and his ‘ho, ho, ho’ diminished mournfully along the railway track, bringing no comfort to anyone.
7. transitive To take away; to subtract. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

Similar: decline, ebb, ooze, abase, abate, belittle, besmall, bring down, embase, cut, decrease, decrement