lessenless‧en /ˈlesən/ ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive] 
Exercise lessens the risk of heart disease.lessen the impact/effect/importance (of something) The new project will lessen the effects of car pollution. Gradually her anxiety lessened.
VERB TABLE
lessen
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | lessen |
| he, she, it | lessens | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | lessened |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have lessened |
| he, she, it | has lessened | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had lessened |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will lessen |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have lessened |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am lessening |
| he, she, it | is lessening | |
| you, we, they | are lessening | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was lessening |
| you, we, they | were lessening | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been lessening |
| he, she, it | has been lessening | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been lessening |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be lessening |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been lessening |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- By Thursday, smoke in the valley had considerably lessened.
- Everyone has their own ideas about the best way to lessen jet lag.
- He shifted his position a little, in order to lessen the pain in his leg.
- My love for the countryside has never lessened.
- Over time, the pain usually lessens, but this may take several months.
- Peace talks have lessened the tension between the two countries.
- Although violence has lessened since the mid-90s, it has not disappeared.
- At the same time, as the Gods become more human, humans themselves become lessened.
- Beyond a quieter plane ride, NoiseBuster is said to lessen the effects of jet lag.
- Her trusting Donald like this, it was lessening the value of her trust in him.
- It should be used as a platform from which to explore the different modes that he suggests of lessening the short-run myopia.
- The individual is always trying to reconcile his inner and outer world and lessen the anxiety of the internal situation.
- With such a base, your dependency on the organization is lessened.
Longman Language Activatorwhen feelings, qualities etc become less strong
· Over time, the pain usually lessens, but this may take several months.· My love for the countryside has never lessened.
if something such as fear, anxiety, trouble or laughter subsides , it gradually decreases: · After the rebel leaders were captured or killed, the trouble subsided.· The speaker puffed on his cigar while he waited for the laughter to subside.
if something such as people's liking or support for something or someone wanes , that feeling gradually becomes slightly less and will probably continue to decrease: · His popularity in the state began to wane almost immediately after the election.· Some countries' taste for purely American pop culture has waned.
if a possibility or chance recedes , it gradually becomes less and less likely: · Since Donald lost his job, the hopes of our buying a house have receded even further.· As the threat of nuclear war receded, other things began to worry us.
to reduce pain, worry, or unpleasant feelings · They gave him drugs to reduce the pain.· Prompt action can often reduce the severity of shock in road accident victims.· Miriam finds that yoga and meditation help her in reducing stress.greatly/significantly/dramatically reduce · Stopping smoking can significantly reduce your risk of suffering a heart attack.
to slightly reduce pain or bad feelings: · He shifted his position a little, in order to lessen the pain in his leg.· Everyone has their own ideas about the best way to lessen jet lag.· Boys are more likely to smoke to relieve stress than girls are.
to reduce the amount of work or worry that someone has: lighten somebody's load/workload: · Maybe we should hire another secretary to lighten Barbara's workload.
to make pain or feelings less unpleasant: · Peppermint has long been regarded as a plant that can relieve indigestion.· Magnetic board games can help relieve the boredom of long car journeys for kids.· Harry attempted a couple of jokes to relieve the tension of the occasion.
to reduce pain or unpleasant feelings and make someone feel happier or more comfortable: · Rod rubbed his jaw to ease the pain a little.· The arrival of the others eased her embarrassment slightly.
formal to reduce pain, make a problem less serious, or reduce feelings such as being bored or anxious: · You can't cure a common cold, but you can alleviate the symptoms.· Western aid has helped to alleviate the situation in northern India.
to reduce physical pain or emotional problems, especially with the result that you feel nothing at all: · They gave me a local anaesthetic to deaden the pain.· It was impossible not to think about her baby, but the drugs dulled her panic.
to make something such as pain, hunger, or a shock slightly less unpleasant or upsetting: · I took a couple of painkillers, which took the edge off the pain.· Knowing that Peter was close by took the edge off my anxiety for my grandson.
: allay somebody's fears/concern/suspicions etc formal to make someone much less frightened, concerned etc: · The government is anxious to allay public fears over the safety of beef.· Showing her his identity card went some way towards allaying her suspicions.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Exercise lessens the risk of heart disease. The new project will lessen the effects of car pollution.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
to become smaller in size, importance, or value, or make something do this SYN reducelessen the risk/chance/possibility etc (of something) Exercise lessens the risk of heart disease. The new project will lessen the effects of car pollution.· The talks were aimed at reducing the chance of war.
(=make an effect smaller or less severe)· The government must take action to reduce the effects of pollution.
(=make it less severe or unpleasant)· The chemical industry is looking at ways to reduce its impact on the environment.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Unfortunately this is not always done, lessening the chances of full and effective usage of the aid provided.· Using those areas for sampling would lessen the chance of an undercount of minorities, she said.· To get out of Palma would lessen her chances of running into Fernando.· The force of the disconnection had certainly lessened the chances of a swift revival of all physical functions.· The hinge connecting the front and rear pieces sits under the instep and lessens the chance of failure due to the metal flexing.· That lessens the chance of profitability and alarms the banks that have insisted on these sales.· This process should lessen the chances of pricing too low or of needlessly giving away other concessions like favourable payment terms.· This could be seen to increase the gulf between special and mainstream education and lessen the chances of functional integration.
· The new project will greatly help these cyclists as well as lessening the effects of car pollution.· Beyond a quieter plane ride, NoiseBuster is said to lessen the effects of jet lag.· In fact, various techniques and a belated statutory intervention have combined to lessen the effect of the omission.
· He made the decision to lessen the angle of impact by closing the throttle, applying hard up elevator and full right rudder.
· This is far quicker, and lessens the risk of damage from charring and scraping.· A better solution is for automakers to develop air bags that inflate more slowly, lessening the risk of injury.· It was felt that these arrangements would lessen the risk of the association being drawn into difficulties if anything else went wrong.· Advisers disagree over whether this increases or lessens the risk, but this is no widows and orphans investment.· The purpose of the statute was to lessen the risk of cattle catching a contagious disease while in transit.
· And if it can, does that in some way lessen the experience?· These will go a long way to lessen the real danger of accidental war or nuclear catastrophe due to misinformation.· We said that this in no way lessens the grief, but it does perhaps help us prepare for the event.
Exercise lessens the risk of heart disease.lessen the impact/effect/importance (of something) The new project will lessen the effects of car pollution. Gradually her anxiety lessened.