Webster's English Dictionary

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decrease

1. de.crease \di-'kre-s, 'de--.kre-s\ vb [ME decreessen, fr. (assumed) AF 
   decreistre, fr. L decrescere], fr. de- + crescere to grow - more at 
   CRESCENT : to grow less  : to cause to grow less , DWINDLE mean to grow or 
   make less. DECREASE suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, 
   numbers, or intensity; LESSEN suggests decline of any sort but is not used 
   with stated numbers; DIMINISH emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its 
   subtraction from a total; REDUCE implies a bringing down or lowering; ABATE 
   implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount; 
   DWINDLE implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing 
   visibly smaller usu. to the point of insignificance or disappearance SYN 
   syn DECREASE, LESSEN, DIMINISH, REDUCE, ABATE 
2. de.crease \'de--.kre-s, di-'kre-s\ n 1: the process of decreasing  2: an 
   amount of diminution