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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Lessen \Less"en\ (l[e^]s"'n), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Lessened} (-'nd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Lessening}.] [From {Less}, adjective] To make less; to reduce; to make smaller, or fewer; to diminish; to lower; to degrade; as, to lessen a kingdom, or a population; to lessen speed, rank, fortune.
Charity . . . shall lessen his punishment. --Calamy.
St. Paul chose to magnify his office when ill men conspired to lessen it. --Atterbury.
Syn: To diminish; reduce; abate; decrease; lower; impair; weaken; degrade.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Lessen \Less"en\, verb (used without an object) To become less; to shrink; to contract; to decrease; to be diminished; as, the apparent magnitude of objects lessens as we recede from them; his care, or his wealth, lessened.
The objection lessens much, and comes to no more than this: there was one witness of no good reputation. --Atterbury.
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
verb
1: decrease in size, extent, or range; "The amount of homework decreased towards the end of the semester"; "The cabin pressure fell dramatically"; "her weight fell to under a hundred pounds"; "his voice fell to a whisper" [syn: {decrease}, {diminish}, {lessen}, {fall}] [ant: {increase}]
2: make smaller; "He decreased his staff" [syn: {decrease}, {lessen}, {minify}] [ant: {increase}]
3: wear off or die down; "The pain subsided" [syn: {subside}, {lessen}]
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Definitions retrieved from the Open Source DICT English and WordNet 3.0 dictionaries. Click here for database copyright information.
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