What does "lessen" mean?

1. (to reduce something) to make something smaller, weaker, or less in amount. 2. (to become less) to become smaller or weaker.

lessen — meaning, definition & examples

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to make something smaller, weaker, or less in amount.

v. to cause something to decrease in size, extent, amount, or degree. Transitive — takes a direct object.

“The new medicine helped to lessen the pain in his back.”

“The government introduced several tax breaks intended to lessen the financial burden on small business owners during the recession.”

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Antonyms

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to become smaller or weaker.

v. to become less in size, degree, or intensity. Intransitive — used without a direct object.

“As the storm moved away, the sound of the wind began to lessen.”

“The risk of infection will lessen significantly once the patient completes the full course of antibiotics.”

Synonyms

Antonyms

Can be used both transitively (to lessen something) and intransitively (something lessens).

“There’s nothing that can lessen my pride and love for everything we’ve been through.”

“By the 90s, it was recognised that the symptoms did not always disappear completely but did lessen as people got older.”

“Adding electric vans and putting limits on tourist buses would also help lessen the public health risk, she said.”

BBC 8 Dec 2014

From Middle English lessenen, lasnen, equivalent to less + -en (verbal suffix).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

englishreference.com/q/lessen