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decrease

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noun

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb decrease differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of decrease are abate, diminish, dwindle, lessen, and reduce. While all these words mean "to grow or make less," decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity.

slowly decreased the amount of pressure

When would abate be a good substitute for decrease?

The meanings of abate and decrease largely overlap; however, abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount.

the storm abated

When could diminish be used to replace decrease?

While the synonyms diminish and decrease are close in meaning, diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total.

his visual acuity has diminished

When can dwindle be used instead of decrease?

Although the words dwindle and decrease have much in common, dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller.

their provisions dwindled slowly

When is it sensible to use lessen instead of decrease?

The words lessen and decrease can be used in similar contexts, but lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number.

has been unable to lessen her debt

When might reduce be a better fit than decrease?

While in some cases nearly identical to decrease, reduce implies a bringing down or lowering.

you must reduce your caloric intake

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decrease
Verb
As the storm moves away, this likelihood decreases. Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Apr. 2025 Listen to this article 2 min Teddi Mellencamp revealed a positive update on her Stage 4 cancer battle, and said a recent scan showed her brain and lung tumors were decreasing in size. Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Noun
For instance, after a decrease from 2020 to 2023, CPD shootings of community members jumped in 2024 and are on track to increase further in 2025. Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2025 Since the congestion relief program launched a bit more than 100 days ago, there have been 6 million fewer vehicles in the Congestion Relief Zone, an 11% decrease from 2024. Brian Fritsch, New York Daily News, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for decrease
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decrease
Verb
  • Ars Video The technique reduced the lag between the patient’s brain signals and the resultant audio from the eight seconds the group had achieved previously to one second.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The goal of this prescribed burn is to decrease the existing fire hazard and to prevent and reduce the impact of future fires in the area.
    CA WILDFIRE BOT, Sacbee.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Whereas a decline in home values diminishes the equity investors might hold in their properties, which limits their ability to leverage assets for additional investments or refinancing opportunities.
    William Jones, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
  • Meanwhile, a more constrained and domestically focused healthcare agenda is likely to diminish trust in federal health agencies, limit access to culturally competent care and produce a loss of global leadership in health innovation.
    Robert Pearl, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Such reductions would likely require cuts to Medicaid, the joint federal-state health care plan for low-income residents, but exactly how those cuts would be implementedhas yet to be decided.
    Danielle J. Brown, Baltimore Sun, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Meanwhile, the average price reduction was five percent in April, the same rate as in March.
    Nicholas Creel, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • But much of that has subsided now; the Steelers, after all, don’t have a second-round pick and trading up could be out of the question as a result.
    Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2025
  • While immediate inflation concerns have subsided, the current administration's aggressive tariff and immigration policies are creating new economic anxieties that could lead to future instability.
    Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • This is a result of a profit-first capitalist system in crisis in the epoch of imperialism’s decline.
    Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Apr. 2025
  • Gold’s warning What’s more, the spike in gold prices this year has continued to signal a risk-off mentality among investors, as gold tends to rally during periods of decline in stocks.
    Pia Singh, CNBC, 19 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • And bond market yields fall by about 150 basis points (1.5 percentage points).11 The Fed Fed Chair Powell says the Fed is waiting for the softening survey data to translate into hard data before moving toward lower interest rates.
    Robert Barone, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025
  • And just how big a hit do 401(k)s take when markets fall?
    Dr. Ronald Premuroso, The Conversation, 14 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • That was the sharpest drop except for that seen at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Betty Lin-Fisher, USA Today, 20 Apr. 2025
  • That also contributes to Alpha Direct's allure—many of the small companies that make these layers only make them in small drops.
    Scott Gilbertson, Wired News, 18 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Every contribution made through our GoFundMe will ease their financial burden and honor Deacon Eddie's incredible legacy of love and service.
    Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 14 Apr. 2025
  • Getting Mitchell off the ball more also balanced the offense and eased the load on Mitchell’s balky knees … and worked so well that the Cavs led the league in offensive efficiency.
    John Hollinger, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Decrease.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decrease. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.

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