decrease
[verb]
Synonyms:
- lessen, cut down, decline, diminish, drop, dwindle, lower, reduce, shrink, subside
[noun]
Synonyms:
- lessening, contraction, cutback, decline, dwindling, falling off, loss, reduction, subsidence

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Antonyms: increase
Contrasted words: augment, enlarge, multiply, elongate, extend, lengthen, prolong, protract, amplify, dilate, distend, expand, swell, accumulate, amass
Related Words: abbreviate, abridge, clip, curtail, retrench, shorten, trim, contract, shrink, allay, alleviate, ease, lighten, mitigate, ebb, subside, cut, cut back, cut down, lower, deduct, subtract

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English Thesaurus: decrease, go down, decline, diminish, fall/drop, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. de‧crease¹ /dɪˈkriːs/ verb [intransitive and transitive]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Anglo-French; Origin: decreistre, from Latin decrescere, from crescere 'to grow']
to become less or go down to a lower level, or to make something do this ⇒ reduce Antonym : increase:
The number of people who have the disease has decreased significantly in recent years.
They want to decrease their reliance on oil.
decrease by
Average house prices decreased by 13% last year.
decrease to
By 1881, the population of Ireland had decreased to 5.2 million.
decrease from
The North’s share of the world’s energy consumption is expected to decrease from 70% to 60%.
decrease in
Attacks of asthma decrease in frequency through early adult life.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. de‧crease² /ˈdiːkriːs/ noun [uncountable and countable]
the process of becoming less, or the amount by which something becomes less Antonym : increase Synonym : reduction
decrease in
Teachers reported decreases in drug use and verbal abuse of teachers.
decrease of
There has been a steady decrease of temperature.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

decrease
noun
ADJ. dramatic, large, sharp, significant There has been a sharp decrease in pollution since the law was introduced.
slight, small | gradual, progressive, steady | corresponding Fewer houses are available, but there is no corresponding decrease in demand.
VERB + DECREASE show This year's figures show a decrease of 30% on last year.
report Half the companies in the survey reported a decrease in sales.
cause, lead to, result in
PREP. on the ~ Marriage is still on the decrease.
~ from … to … a decrease from 62% to just under half
~ in The new treatment led to a huge decrease in the number of deaths.
~ of a decrease of 20%
~ to

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

decrease
verb
ADV. considerably, dramatically, drastically, markedly, significantly | slightly Spending has decreased slightly this year.
rapidly | steadily | gradually
PREP. by Crime has decreased by 20 per cent.
from, to Average family size has decreased from five to three children.
with The number of quarrels among children decreases with age.
PHRASES decrease in number/size/value The heart gradually decreases in size.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

decrease

significantly (=enough to be an important change)
Violent crime has significantly decreased over the last ten years.
considerably/substantially (=a lot)
During this period unemployment decreased considerably.
markedly (=very noticeably)
Aircraft collisions decreased markedly during the 1990s.
rapidly (=very quickly)
Since then, elephant numbers have been decreasing rapidly.
dramatically (=suddenly and a lot)
The survival rate decreases dramatically as the disease progresses.
slightly (=a little)
Population levels actually began to slightly decrease five years ago.
steadily (=gradually and continuously)
The proportion of adult cigarette smokers has been steadily decreasing.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

decrease to become less in number or amount:
The average rainfall has decreased by around 30 percent.
go down to decrease. Go down is less formal than decrease and is the usual word to use in conversation:
Unemployment has gone down in the past few months.
decline formal to decrease – used with numbers or amounts, or about the level or standard of something:
The standard of living has declined.
Support for the government is steadily declining.
Salaries have declined by around 4.5%.
diminish to become smaller or less important:
Union membership diminished from 30,000 at its height to just 2,000 today.
fall/drop to decrease, especially by a large amount. Fall and drop are less formal than decrease:
The number of tigers in the wild has fallen to just over 10,000.
At night, the temperature drops to minus 20 degrees.
plunge /plʌndʒ/
plummet /ˈplʌmət, ˈplʌmɪt/ to suddenly decrease very quickly and by a very large amount:
Share prices have plummeted 29% in the last four months.
Climate change could cause global temperatures to plummet.
slide if a price or value slides, it gradually decreases in a way that causes problems – used especially in news reports:
The dollar fell in late trading in New York yesterday and slid further this morning.
dwindle /ˈdwɪndl/ to gradually decrease until there is very little left of something, especially numbers or amounts, popularity, or importance:
Support for the theory is dwindling.
taper off /ˈteɪpə $ -ər/ if a number or the amount of an activity that is happening tapers off, it gradually decreases, especially so that it stops completely:
Political violence tapered off after the elections.
reduction used when the price, amount, or level of something is made lower:
There will be further price reductions in the sales.
A small reduction in costs can mean a large increase in profits.
cut used when a government or company reduces the price, amount, or level of something:
a 1% cut in interest rates
tax cuts
It is possible that there will be further job cuts.
drop/fall used when the number, amount, or level of something goes down, especially by a large amount:
The figures showed a sharp fall in industrial output.
There was a dramatic drop in temperature.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

fall (also fall over, fall down) to suddenly go down onto the floor when standing, walking, or running:
She fell on the stairs and broke her ankle.
Children are always falling over.
trip on/over something to fall or almost fall when you hit your foot against something:
Someone might trip over those toys.
I tripped on a piece of wood.
slip to fall or almost fall when you are walking on a wet or very smooth surface:
She slipped and hurt her ankle.
I was scared I would slip on the highly polished floor.
stumble to almost fall when you put your foot down in an awkward way:
He stumbled and almost fell.
One of our porters stumbled on the rough ground.
collapse to fall suddenly and heavily to the ground, especially when you become unconscious:
One of the runners collapsed halfway through the race.
lose your balance to become unsteady so that you start to fall over:
She lost her balance on the first step and fell down the stairs.
Have something to hold onto, in case you lose your balance.
fall flat on your face to fall forwards so you are lying on your front on the ground:
She fell flat on her face getting out of the car.
decrease used when the number, amount, or level of something becomes less than it used to be:
There has been a significant decrease in the number of deaths from lung cancer.
a 5% decrease in housing prices
reduction used when the price, amount, or level of something is made lower:
There will be further price reductions in the sales.
A small reduction in costs can mean a large increase in profits.
cut used when a government or company reduces the price, amount, or level of something:
a 1% cut in interest rates
tax cuts
It is possible that there will be further job cuts.
drop/fall used when the number, amount, or level of something goes down, especially by a large amount:
The figures showed a sharp fall in industrial output.
There was a dramatic drop in temperature.
decline used when the number, amount, level, or standard of something goes down, especially gradually:
During the 1970s, there was a gradual decline in the birthrate.
a decline in educational standards

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲