diminish
/dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/verb
diminish is spelled D-I-M-I-N-I-S-H: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, diminish means “To make smaller” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in diminish?
| Letters | 8: D-I-M-I-N-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.9 times per million words; the 15,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is diminish?
Diminish appears 2.9 times per million words in written English, the 15,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce diminish?
- /dɪˈmɪnɪʃ/
Diminish has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-diminish.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of diminish
- diminishes present, singular, he/she/it
- diminishing participle, present
- diminished participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does diminish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make smaller.
- 2
To become less or smaller.
- 3
To make appear smaller than in reality; to dismiss as unimportant.
- 4
To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken; to nerf (in gaming).
- 5
To taper.
- 6
To disappear gradually.
- 7
To take away; to subtract.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Diminish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | réduire , rétrécir, rapetisser, diminuer , amincir |
| German | vermindern, verkleinern, reduzieren, verringern , schrumpfen , schmälern |
| Portuguese | diminuir |
| Spanish | disminuir, diminuir, jibarizar, amenguar, parvificar , disminuir[se] |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does diminish come from?
Formed under the influence of both diminue (from Old French diminuer, from Latin dīminuo) and minish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).