decrease

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Etymology

From Middle English decresen, alteration of discresen, from Anglo-Norman -, Old French descreistre (French: décroître), from Latin decrescere.

Pronunciation

• (verb) enPR: dĭkrēs', IPA: /dɪˈkɹiːs/
• (noun) enPR: dē'krēs, IPA: /ˈdiːkɹiːs/

Verb

decrease (decreases, present participle decreasing; simple past and past participle decreased)

1. (intransitive) Of a quantity, to become smaller.

   The quality of our products has decreased since the main designer left.

2. (transitive) To make (a quantity) smaller.

   Let's decrease the volume a little so we can hear each other talking.

Synonyms

• (become smaller) drop, fall, go down, plummet (rapidly), plunge (rapidly), reduce, shrink, sink; See also Thesaurus:decrease
• (make smaller) abate, cut, decrement, lower, reduce; See also Thesaurus:diminish

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “become larger”): go up, grow, increase, rise, soar (rapidly), shoot up (rapidly); See also Thesaurus:increase
• (antonym(s) of “make larger”): increase, increment, raise, up (informal); See also Thesaurus:augment

Related terms

• decretion
• increase

Translations

• French: diminuer
• German: abnehmen
• Italian: diminuire, calare
• Portuguese: diminuir, reduzir
• Russian: уменьша́ться
• Spanish: disminuir, mermar

Translations

• French: diminuer, réduire
• German: verringern
• Italian: diminuire, far calare, ribassare, ridurre, decrementare
• Portuguese: diminuir, reduzir
• Russian: уменьша́ть
• Spanish: disminuir, mermar

Noun

decrease

1. An amount by which a quantity decreases or is decreased.

   After six years of constant growth, the company reported a slight decrease in sales last year.

   One research team has recorded Baishui’s decrease at about 27 meters per year over the last 10 years.

2. (knitting) A reduction in the number of stitches, usually accomplished by suspending the stitch to be decreased from another existing stitch or by knitting it together with another stitch. See Decrease (knitting).

Synonyms

• (amount by which a quantity decreases or is decreased) cut, decline, decrement, drop, fall, loss, lowering, reduction, shrinkage

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “amount by which a quantity decreases or is decreased”): gain, increase, increment, raise (US, of pay), rise

Translations

• German: Verringerung
• Italian: diminuzione, calo, ribasso, riduzione
• Portuguese: redução, diminuição
• Russian: уменьше́ние
• Spanish: disminución, merma

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