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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Diminution \Dim'i*nu"tion\, noun [L. diminutio, or perh. rather deminutio: cf. F. diminution. See {Diminish}.]
1. The act of diminishing, or of making or becoming less; state of being diminished; reduction in size, quantity, or degree; -- opposed to {augmentation} or {increase}.
2. The act of lessening dignity or consideration, or the state of being deprived of dignity; a lowering in estimation; degradation; abasement.
The world's opinion or diminution of me. --Eikon Basilike.
Nor thinks it diminution to be ranked In military honor next. --Philips.
3. (Law) Omission, inaccuracy, or defect in a record.
4. (Mus.) In counterpoint, the imitation of, or reply to, a subject, in notes of half the length or value of those the subject itself.
Syn: Decrease; decay; abatement; reduction; deduction; decrement.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
diminution
noun
1: change toward something smaller or lower [syn: {decline}]
2: the statement of a theme in notes of lesser duration (usually half the length of the original) [ant: {augmentation}]
3: the act of decreasing or reducing something [syn: {decrease}, {reduction}, {step-down}] [ant: {increase}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
100 Moby Thesaurus words for "diminution": abatement, abridgment, allayment, alleviation, analgesia, anesthesia, anesthetizing, appeasement, assuagement, attenuation, attrition, blunting, calming, concavity, contraction, curtailment, cut, cutting, dampening, damping, de-escalation, deadening, debasement, decrease, decrement, decrescence, deduction, deflation, degradation, demotion, demulsion, depletion, depreciation, depression, derogation, descent, detraction, detrusion, diminishment, dip, disparagement, ducking, dulcification, dulling, dying, dying off, ease, easement, easing, extenuation, extraction, fade-out, falling-off, hauling down, hollowness, hushing, impairment, languishment, leniency, lessening, letdown, letup, lightening, loosening, lowering, lulling, miniaturization, mitigation, modulation, mollification, numbing, pacification, palliation, quietening, quieting, reduction, relaxation, relief, remedy, remission, retraction, retrenchment, sagging, salving, scaling down, shortening, shrinkage, simplicity, sinking, slackening, softening, soothing, subduement, submergence, subtraction, tempering, thrusting under, tranquilization, truncation, weakening
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