Diminish
Diminish verb - To make smaller in amount, volume, or extent.
Usage example: the state's blood supplies were severely diminished by the two consecutive disasters
Increase is an antonym for diminish in topics: reduce, decrease, belittle, become or cause to be less.
Nearby Words: diminution, diminishing
Increase
Increase verb - To make greater in size, amount, or number.
Usage example: we have to increase the number of season-ticket holders if the local sports franchise is to survive
Common collocations
| ability | diminish ability | increase ability |
| quality | diminish quality | increase quality |
| power | diminish power | increase power |
| strength | diminish strength | increase strength |
| Other words: popularity, effect, time, speed, level, size, factor, output, effectiveness, population, drama, multiplier, numbers, skills, chances, powers, abilities. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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Stronger with Age: Subverted in that while many of their powers do increase with age, especially their strength and speed, their vulnerability to silver or being killed by wood through the heart does not diminish.
Source: Series / True Blood -
In situations where the machine has to multitask (such as PCs, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360), capacity can increase performance, but the returns diminish quickly (i.e., if you double the RAM, it might really boost performance, but if you double it again, it won't do much).
Cite this Source
Increase and Diminish. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/diminish/increase
Diminish & Increase. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/diminish/increase>.
Increase or Diminish. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/diminish/increase.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "diminish" and "increase" have occurred on timeline