v., -ened, -en·ing, -ens.

v.tr.

1. To make less; reduce.
2. Archaic. To make little of; belittle.

v.intr.

To become less; decrease. See synonyms at decrease.

[Middle English lessen, lessenen, from lesse, less. See less.]

verb

1. To grow or cause to grow gradually less: abate, decrease, diminish, drain, dwindle, ebb, let up, peter (out), rebate, reduce, tail away (or off), taper (off). See increase/decrease.
2. To make less severe or more bearable: allay, alleviate, assuage, comfort, ease, lighten², mitigate, palliate, relieve. See increase/decrease.

v

Definition: lower, reduce
Antonyms: enlarge, extend, grow, increase, raise, strengthen

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IN BRIEF: To make or become smaller in number or rank.

To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals. — Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)

Tutor's tip: Another word that sounds like "lessen" which means to make or become smaller, is "lesson" which is something learned.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - mindske, nedsætte, forklejne, gøre noget mindre end det er, undervurdere
v. intr. - aftage, blive mindre

Nederlands (Dutch)
verminderen, verkleinen, minder worden, afnemen

Français (French)
v. tr. - diminuer, réduire, atténuer
v. intr. - diminuer

Deutsch (German)
v. - abnehmen, nachlassen, (sich) vermindern

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ελαττώνω/-ομαι, λιγοστεύω, μειώνω/-ομαι, μικραίνω

Italiano (Italian)
decrescere, diminuire

Português (Portuguese)
v. - diminuir

Русский (Russian)
уменьшать, недооценивать

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - disminuir, aminorar, reducir
v. intr. - disminuirse, reducirse, menguar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - förminska, reducera, förringa, nedvärdera, undervärdera, minskas, bli mindre, avta, börja försvinna

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
减少, 减轻, 缩小, 变小, 变少

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 減少, 減輕, 縮小
v. intr. - 變小, 變少, 減輕

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - ~을 적게 만들다, ~이 줄다
v. intr. - 적어지다, 줄다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 少なくする, 小さくする

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يقلل, يخفف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הפחית, המעיט, החליש‬
v. intr. - ‮פחת, התמעט, נחלש‬

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