reduce

1
as in to demote
to bring to a lower grade or rank was reduced from team captain to team member as punishment for his misbehavior on the court

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How does the verb reduce differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of reduce are abate, decrease, diminish, dwindle, and lessen. While all these words mean "to grow or make less," reduce implies a bringing down or lowering.

you must reduce your caloric intake

When would abate be a good substitute for reduce?

The synonyms abate and reduce are sometimes interchangeable, but abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount.

the storm abated

Where would decrease be a reasonable alternative to reduce?

The meanings of decrease and reduce largely overlap; however, decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity.

slowly decreased the amount of pressure

When can diminish be used instead of reduce?

While the synonyms diminish and reduce are close in meaning, diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total.

his visual acuity has diminished

In what contexts can dwindle take the place of reduce?

In some situations, the words dwindle and reduce are roughly equivalent. However, dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller.

their provisions dwindled slowly

When is lessen a more appropriate choice than reduce?

The words lessen and reduce are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number.

has been unable to lessen her debt

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of reduce But critics have worried the measures could reduce real estate property values. Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 15 Jan. 2025 Customers who don’t upgrade will see their rates reduced by about $13 while losing access to the regional sports networks. Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 15 Jan. 2025 Studies show that cigarettes with lower nicotine content reduce people’s dependence on nicotine and can help alleviate some of the cravings associated with withdrawal. Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, 15 Jan. 2025 These tools allow professionals to focus on strategic decision-making, reducing time spent on repetitive tasks. Carlos Netto, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for reduce 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for reduce
Verb
  • While Jenny West finished in first place, Michele Fitzgerald finished in second, and Rachel Robinson finished in third, the Karma vote bumped Rachel up to tie with Jenny for first place, and Michele was demoted to third place.
    Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 9 Jan. 2025
  • Pluto isn’t a planet Pluto was famously demoted from a full planet to a dwarf planet in 2006.
    Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Depression risk further decreased for every additional 1,000 steps, with the lowest risk at 7,000 to 10,000 daily steps.
    Sarah Garone, Health, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Because of this, experts recommend prioritizing foods shown to decrease inflammation, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fish, lean poultry, and healthy fats like olive oil and avocado.
    Brittany Risher, SELF, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Alarming figures indicate that 40% of the earth’s land is already degraded, impacting half of the human population and half of the global GDP, underscoring the severity of the challenge faced by communities today.
    Sanam Mahoozi, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
  • There are a number of ways that these tiny pieces of plastic can become airborne, including from sea spray, textiles sitting in landfills interacting with the wind, degrading tires as people drive, and more.7 Wildfire smoke is another common way people breathe in microplastics, Johnson said.
    Brian Mastroianni, Health, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • There is growing evidence, for example, that credit scores depressed by medical debt can threaten people’s access to housing and drive homelessness.
    Noam N. Levey, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025
  • Her big personality is, at first, a distraction technique, to keep the girls from letting poverty depress them.
    Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2024
Verb
  • The baseball field was destroyed and some of the buildings were depleted.
    Stephanie Giang-Paunon, Fox News, 8 Jan. 2025
  • Not everyone got to partake in the joy, though — did only did supplies not last for three-and-a-half days, they were depleted in less than an hour.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Over time, the volcanic mountain began eroding and sinking, but the barrier reef and lagoon kept growing.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Downdrafts are small columns of air sinking rapidly toward the ground, often the precursor to more damaging wind events.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Austria will likely not face fines in the manner of Hungary, but security cooperation will diminish.
    Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
  • Maryland faltered for the first time, a loss that dims but shouldn’t diminish its impressive start as its ceiling comes clearer into focus.
    Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 9 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • By attenuating wave energy, the reefs help create a calmer environment near the shoreline, minimizing erosion.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2024
  • Stores and public spaces muted their PAs, and the constant, global clang of tunes that filled the city’s airwaves was attenuated.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near reduce

Cite this Entry

“Reduce.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/reduce. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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