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Definition of lessen verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

lessen

verb
 
/ˈlesn/
 
/ˈlesn/
[intransitive, transitive]
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they lessen
 
/ˈlesn/
 
/ˈlesn/
he / she / it lessens
 
/ˈlesnz/
 
/ˈlesnz/
past simple lessened
 
/ˈlesnd/
 
/ˈlesnd/
past participle lessened
 
/ˈlesnd/
 
/ˈlesnd/
-ing form lessening
 
/ˈlesnɪŋ/
 
/ˈlesnɪŋ/
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  1. to become or make something become smaller, weaker, less important, etc. synonym diminish
    • The noise began to lessen.
    • lessen something to lessen the risk/impact/effect of something
    • They gave her an injection to lessen the pain.
    Homophones lessen | lessonlessen   lesson
     
    /ˈlesn/
     
    /ˈlesn/
    • lessen verb
      • The aim is to lessen the impact on the environment.
    • lesson noun
      • I have a guitar lesson after school today.
    Extra Examples
    • Regular exercise can help lessen the pain.
    • Time had gradually lessened the pain of her grief.
    • Too much background detail tends to lessen the impact of the central image.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • considerably
    • greatly
    • significantly
    verb + lessen
    • begin to
    • try to
    • tend to
    See full entry
See lessen in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee lessen in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
previously
adverb
 
 
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