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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | lower, reduce |
| Synonyms: | abate, abridge, amputate, attenuate, become smaller, clip, close, contract, crop, curtail, cut, cut back, de-escalate, decline, decrease, degrade, die down, dilute, diminish, downsize, drain, dwindle, ease, erode, grow less, impair, lighten, minify, minimize, mitigate, moderate, narrow, roll back, shrink, slack up, slacken, slow down, soft-pedal, take the bite out, take the edge off, take the sting out, taper, taper off, thin, truncate, weaken, wind down |
| Notes: | lessen means to decrease in size, extent, or range, while a lesson is a unit of instruction |
| Antonyms: | enlarge, extend, increase, raise, strengthen |
| Main Entry: | allay |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | reduce something, usually a pain or a problem |
| Synonyms: | abate, alleviate, assuage, calm, compose, cool out, decrease, ease, lessen, lighten, make nice, mitigate, moderate, mollify, pacify, play up to, pour oil on, quiet, square, take the bite out, take the sting out |
| Antonyms: | intensify, provoke, stir, worsen |
| Main Entry: | appease |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | satisfy, pacify |
| Synonyms: | allay, alleviate, assuage, be enough, blunt, calm, compose, conciliate, content, diminish, do*, ease, gratify, lessen, lull, make matters up, meet halfway, mitigate, mollify, patch things up, placate, propitiate, quell, quench, quiet, serve, soften, soothe, subdue, sweeten, tranquilize |
| Antonyms: | aggravate, annoy, incite, irritate, provoke, tease |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | assuage |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | soothe, relieve |
| Synonyms: | allay, alleviate, appease, calm, compose, conciliate, cool*, ease, fill, lessen, lighten, lull, make nice, mitigate, moderate, mollify, pacify, palliate, placate, pour oil on, propitiate, quench, quiet, sate, satisfy, soften, still, surfeit, sweeten, take the edge off, take the sting out, temper, tranquilize |
| Antonyms: | exacerbate, upset |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | attenuate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | weaken |
| Synonyms: | abate, constrict, contract, cripple, debilitate, deflate, disable, dissipate, enfeeble, extenuate, lessen, mitigate, sap, shrink, thin, undermine, vitiate |
| Antonyms: | expand, increase, intensify, strengthen |
| Main Entry: | break |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | cushion something's effect |
| Synonyms: | diminish, lessen, lighten, moderate, reduce, soften, weaken |
| Notes: | to brake is to slow or stop while break is to cause to separate into pieces suddenly or violently, smash or crack |
| Main Entry: | commercialize |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | prepare for saleability |
| Synonyms: | advertise, cheapen, degrade, depreciate, develop as business, lessen, lower, make bring returns, make marketable, make pay, make profitable, make saleable, market, sell |
| Main Entry: | compose |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | calm, bring under control |
| Synonyms: | adjust, allay, appease, arrange, assuage, balm, becalm, check, collect, comfort, console, contain, control, cool, ease, ease up, hold in, lessen, let up, lull, mitigate, moderate, modulate, pacify, placate, quell, quiet, re-collect, reconcile, regulate, rein, relax, repress, resolve, restrain, settle, simmer down, slacken, smother, soften, solace, soothe, still, suppress, temper, tranquilize, tune down |
| Notes: | compose is preferred when the parts of the whole being assembled are regarded as nonconcrete and more general; when the parts are concrete and specific, then constitute is more appropriate, and then there is comprise, which can mean 'comprehending or encompassing certain parts' |
| Antonyms: | agitate, anger, arouse, distress, excite, upset |
| Main Entry: | consume |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | use up |
| Synonyms: | absorb, apply, avail oneself of, deplete, devour, dissipate, dominate, drain, drivel, eat up, employ, engross, exhaust, expend, finish, finish up, fritter away, frivol away, go, go through, have recourse to, lavish, lessen, monopolize, obsess, preoccupy, profit by, put away, put to use, run out of, run through, spend, squander, throw away, trifle, utilize, vanish, wash up, waste, wear out |
| Antonyms: | accumulate, collect, gather, neglect, not use, store |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
