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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | diminish, lessen |
| Synonyms: | abate, atrophy, decline, decrease, die away, die down, die out, dim, draw to a close, drop, dwindle, ease off, ebb, fade, fade away, fail, fall, fall short, let up, moderate, peter out, relent, shrink, sink, slack off, slacken, subside, taper off, waste away, weaken, wind down, wither |
| Notes: | wane means to gradually decrease in strength or size, while wax means to increase in size or strength |
| Antonyms: | grow, increase, raise, rise |
| Main Entry: | waning |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | decreasing |
| Synonyms: | abating, declinatory, decrescent, ebbing, lessening |
| Antonyms: | waxing |
| Main Entry: | abate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | lessen, grow or cause to grow less |
| Synonyms: | allay, chill out, coast*, cool, cool it, decline, decrease, diminish, dull, dwindle, ebb, go with the flow, hang easy, hang loose, lay back, let go, let it all hang out, let up, mellow out, moderate, quell, recede, reduce, slacken, slow, subdue, subside, take it easy, taper, taper off, unlax, wane |
| Antonyms: | amplify, enhance, enlarge, extend, increase, intensify, magnify, prolong, revive, rise |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Example Sentences
- Bidding often is slow until the waning minutes.
- With her waning strength, she haltingly dragged a chair several inches out from the table.
- He was half an hour late, and it looked as if her patience was waning.
| Main Entry: | age |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | become older |
| Synonyms: | decline, deteriorate, develop, get along, grow, grow feeble, grow old, grow up, mature, mellow, push, put mileage on, ripen, wane |
| Notes: | epoch applies to the beginning of a new period marked by radical changes and new developments - while era applies to the entire period; age denotes a period identified with some dominant personality or characteristic and period pertains to any portion of time |
| Main Entry: | aging |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | becoming older |
| Synonyms: | crumbling, declining, developing, fading, fermenting, getting along, getting on, maturing, mellowing, senescent, slumping, stale, waning, wearing out |
| Main Entry: | contract |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | condense |
| Synonyms: | abate, abbreviate, abridge, become smaller, clench, compress, confine, constrict, consume, curtail, decline, decrease, deflate, draw in, dwindle, ebb, edit, epitomize, evaporate, fall away, fall off, grow less, lessen, lose, narrow, omit, purse, recede, reduce, shrink, shrivel, subside, syncopate, take in, tighten, wane, waste, weaken, wither, wrinkle |
| Antonyms: | amplify, dilate, enlarge, expand, extend, increase, lengthen, spread, stretch |
| Main Entry: | decay |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | deteriorate, crumble |
| Synonyms: | atrophy, be impaired, become contaminated, blight, break up, collapse, corrode, curdle, decline, decompose, defile, degenerate, depreciate, discolor, disintegrate, dissolve, dry-rot, dwindle, fade, fail, get worse, go bad, go to seed, go to the dogs, hit rock bottom, hit the skids, lessen, mildew, mold, molder, mortify, pejorate, perish, pollute, putrefy, putresce, reach depths, rot, sap, shrivel, sicken, sink, slump, spoil, suppurate, turn, wane, waste away, weaken, wear away, wither |
| Antonyms: | build, develop, flourish, germinate, grow, improve, ripen, strengthen |
| Main Entry: | decline |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | lessening |
| Synonyms: | abatement, backsliding, comedown, cropper, decay, decrepitude, degeneracy, degeneration, descent, deterioration, devolution, diminution, dissolution, dive, downfall, downgrade, downturn, drop, dwindling, ebb, ebbing, enfeeblement, failing, failure, fall, falling off, flop, lapse, on the skids, pratfall, recession, relapse, senility, skids, slump, wane, waning, weakening, worsening |
| Antonyms: | betterment, improvement, increase, rise |
| Main Entry: | decline |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | lessen, become less |
| Synonyms: | abate, backslide, cheapen, decay, decrease, degenerate, depreciate, deteriorate, diminish, disimprove, disintegrate, droop, drop, dwindle, ebb, fade, fail, fall, fall off, flag, go downhill, go to pot, go to the dogs, hit the skids, languish, lapse, lose value, lower, pine, recede, relapse, retrograde, return, revert, rot, sag, settle, shrink, sink, slide, subside, wane, weaken, worsen |
| Antonyms: | improve, increase, rise |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
