| 单词 | decrease |
| 释义 | decrease v. /di krees"/; n. /dee"krees, di krees"/, v. , decreased, decreasing, n. v.i. 1. to diminish or lessen in extent, quantity, strength, power, etc.: During the ten-day march across the desert their supply of water decreased rapidly. v.t. 2. to make less; cause to diminish: to decrease one's work load. n. 3. the act or process of decreasing; condition of being decreased; gradual reduction: a decrease in sales; a decrease in intensity. 4. the amount by which a thing is lessened: The decrease in sales was almost 20 percent. [1350-1400; ME decres (n.), decresen (v.) < OF decreiss-, long s. of decreistre < L decrescere (de- DE- + crescere to grow); see CRESCENT] Syn. 1. wane, lessen, fall off, decline, contract, abate. DECREASE, DIMINISH, DWINDLE, SHRINK imply becoming smaller or less in amount. DECREASE commonly implies a sustained reduction in stages, esp. of bulk, size, volume, or quantity, often from some imperceptible cause or inherent process: The swelling decreased daily. DIMINISH usually implies the action of some external cause that keeps taking away: Disease caused the number of troops to diminish steadily. DWINDLE implies an undesirable reduction by degrees, resulting in attenuation: His followers dwindled to a mere handful. SHRINK esp. implies contraction through an inherent property under specific conditions: Many fabrics shrink in hot water. 3. abatement, decline, subsidence, shrinking, dwindling, ebbing. Ant. 1. increase, expand. |
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