Read full poem →While you sat and played Toccatas, stately at the clavichord?
What? Those lesser thirds so plaintive, sixths diminished sigh on sigh,
Told them something? Those suspensions, those solutions--"Must we die?"
Dictionary Entry
diminished
Part of SpeechverbPronunciation/dɪˈmɪnɪʃt/Word FrequencyCommon (4.76)Curriculum FrequencyLess common (1)Used In Literature ↓To make smaller.
In a Sentence
“Writers often choose diminished when discussing complex ideas.”
Published Usage Examples
“With scholarly conversations concerning the economy and the horizon comes the phrase "diminished expectations."”
“But neighbors say his dire circumstances and what they describe as his diminished mental health make him vulnerable to exploitation.”
This entry also appears in ReadingWillow Year 12 word lists, so students can move between the dictionary and year-level study sets.
Origin
Latin *diminuere* ‘lessen’, from *minus* ‘less’.
Common Phrases
. diminishedcapacity diminisheddiminished greatly
Related Words
Poetry examples for “diminished”
Excerpts from the ReadingWillow English Library collection.
