Decrease
Decrease verb - To make smaller in amount, volume, or extent.
Spread
Spread verb - To become greater in size, extent, volume, amount, or number.
Usage example: dissatisfaction with the new administration is spreading rapidly
How words are described
| small | small decrease | small spread |
| actual | actual decrease | actual spread |
| massive | massive decrease | massive spread |
| large | large decrease | large spread |
| Other adjectives: major, general, rapid, sudden, overall. | ||
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Away from a telephone-exchange, the force any one man could receive information from and give orders to within the space of a minute was limited to less than a hundred metres and about that number of men (men spread out to decrease losses from artillery fire).
Source: Frontline General
Cite this Source
Spread and Decrease. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/decrease/spread
Decrease & Spread. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/decrease/spread>.
Spread or Decrease. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/decrease/spread.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "decrease" and "spread" have occurred on timeline