diminish
verbVerb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they diminish | |
| he / she / it diminishes | |
| past simple diminished | |
| past participle diminished | |
| -ing form diminishing |
- [intransitive, transitive]
to become smaller, weaker, etc.; to make something become smaller, weaker, etc. 减少；（使）减弱，缩减；降低 - [transitive] diminish somebody/something
to make somebody/something seem less important than they really are 贬低；贬损；轻视 I don't wish to diminish the importance of their contribution. 我并不想贬低他们所作贡献的重要性。 The trial has aged and diminished him. 这场审讯使他衰老而且垮了。
Word Originlate Middle English: blend of archaic minish ‘diminish’ (based on Latin minutia ‘smallness’) and obsolete diminue ‘speak disparagingly’ (based on Latin deminuere ‘lessen’ (in late Latin diminuere), from minuere ‘make small’).
Idioms
(the law of) diminishing returns
used to refer to a point at which you start achieving less than the value of the time or money you put into something 减少： 用来指您开始获得的成就少于投入某物的时间或金钱的价值的那一点