Dilettanteish - Diminution

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The true poet is not an eccentric creature, not a mere artist living only for art, not a dreamer or a dilettante, sipping the nectar of existence, while he keeps aloof from its deeper interests. J. C. Shairp.
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Dilettanteish (?), a. Somewhat like a dilettante.
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Dilettanteism (?), n. The state or quality of being a dilettante; the desultory pursuit of art, science, or literature.
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Dilettantish (?), a. Dilettanteish.
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Dilettantism (?), n. Same as . F. Harrison.
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Diligence (?), n. [F. diligence, L. diligentia.] 1. The quality of being diligent; carefulness; careful attention; -- the opposite of negligence.
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2. Interested and persevering application; devoted and painstaking effort to accomplish what is undertaken; assiduity in service.
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That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in; and the best of me is diligence. Shak.
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3. (Scots Law) Process by which persons, lands, or effects are seized for debt; process for enforcing the attendance of witnesses or the production of writings.
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Coloq. To do one's diligence , Coloq. give diligence , Coloq. use diligence , to exert one's self; to make interested and earnest endeavor.
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And each of them doth all his diligence
To do unto the festé reverence. Chaucer.

Syn. -- Attention; industry; assiduity; sedulousness; earnestness; constancy; heed; heedfulness; care; caution. -- , . Industry has the wider sense of the two, implying an habitual devotion to labor for some valuable end, as knowledge, property, etc. Diligence denotes earnest application to some specific object or pursuit, which more or less directly has a strong hold on one's interests or feelings. A man may be diligent for a time, or in seeking some favorite end, without meriting the title of industrious. Such was the case with Fox, while Burke was eminent not only for diligence, but industry; he was always at work, and always looking out for some new field of mental effort.
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The sweat of industry would dry and die,
But for the end it works to. Shak.
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Diligence and accuracy are the only merits which an historical writer ascribe to himself. Gibbon.
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Diligence (?), n. [F.] A four-wheeled public stagecoach, used in France.
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Diligency (?), n. [L. diligentia.] Diligence; care; persevering endeavor. [Obs.] Milton.
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Diligent (?), a. [F. diligent, L. diligens, -entis, p. pr. of diligere, dilectum, to esteem highly, prefer; di- = dis- + legere to choose. See .] 1. Prosecuted with careful attention and effort; careful; painstaking; not careless or negligent.
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The judges shall make diligent inquisition. Deut. xix. 18.
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2. Interestedly and perseveringly attentive; steady and earnest in application to a subject or pursuit; assiduous; industrious.
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Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings. Prov. xxii. 29.
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Diligent cultivation of elegant literature. Prescott.

Syn. -- Active; assiduous; sedulous; laborious; persevering; attentive; industrious.
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Diligently, adv. In a diligent manner; not carelessly; not negligently; with industry or assiduity.
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Ye diligently keep commandments of the Lord your God. Deut. vi. 17.
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Dill (dĭl), n. [AS dile; akin to D. dille, OHG. tilli, G. dill, dille, Sw. dill, Dan. dild.] (Bot.) An herb (Peucedanum graveolens), the seeds of which are moderately warming, pungent, and aromatic, and were formerly used as a soothing medicine for children; -- called also dillseed. Dr. Prior.
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Dill, v. t. [OE. dillen, fr. dul dull, a.] To still; to calm; to soothe, as one in pain. [Obs.]
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dillenia n. any of several evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus Dillenia grown for their foliage and nodding magnolialike flowers which are followed by fruit that is used in curries and jellies and preserves.
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Dilleniaceae n. a natural family of chiefly tropical shrubs and trees and climbers having leathery leaves or flattened leaflike stems, including the genera Dillenia and Hibbertia.
Syn. -- family Dilleniaceae.
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Dilleniidae n. a group of families of more or less advanced trees and shrubs and herbs having either polypetalous or gamopetalous corollas and often with ovules attached to the walls of the ovary; it contains 69 families including Ericaceae and Cruciferae and Malvaceae; it is sometimes classified as a superorder.
Syn. -- subclass Dilleniidae.
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Dilling (dĭllĭng), n. A darling; a favorite. [Obs.]
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Whilst the birds billing,
Each one with his dilling. Drayton.
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Dilluing (dĭllūĭng), n. (Min.) A process of sorting ore by washing in a hand sieve. [Written also deluing.]
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dilly (dĭll�), n. [Contr. fr. diligence.] A kind of stagecoach. “The Derby dilly.” J. H. Frere.
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dilly (dĭll�), n. something remarkable, highly unusual, or exceptionally effective; as, a dilly of a movie; when I make a mistake, it's a dilly.
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dilly-dally (?), v. i. [See .] To loiter or trifle; to waste time.
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Dilogical (?), a. Ambiguous; of double meaning. [Obs.] T. Adams.
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Dilogy (?), n.; pl. Dilogies (#). [L. dilogia, Gr. �, fr. � doubtful; di- = dis- twice + � to speak.] (Rhet.) An ambiguous speech; a figure in which a word is used an equivocal sense. [R.]
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Dilucid (?), a. [L. dilucidus, fr. dilucere to be light enough to distinguish objects apart. See .] Clear; lucid. [Obs.] Bacon. -- Dilucidly, adv. [Obs.] -- Dilucidity (#), n. [Obs.]
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Dilucidate (?), v. t. [L. dilucidatus, p. p. of dilucidare.] To elucidate. [Obs.] Boyle.
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Dilucidation (?), n. [L. dilucidatio.] The act of making clear. [Obs.] Boyle.
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Diluent (?), a. [L. diluens, p. pr. diluere. See .] Diluting; making thinner or weaker by admixture, esp. of water. Arbuthnot.
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Diluent, n. 1. That which dilutes.
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2. (Med.) An agent used for effecting dilution of the blood; a weak drink.
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There is no real diluent but water. Arbuthnot.
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Dilute (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diluted; p. pr. & vb. n. Diluting.] [L. dilutus, p. p. of diluere to wash away, dilute; di- = dis- + luere, equiv. to lavare to wash, lave. See , and cf. .] 1. To make thinner or more liquid by admixture with something; to thin and dissolve by mixing.
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Mix their watery store.
With the chyle's current, and dilute it more. Blackmore.
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2. To diminish the strength, flavor, color, etc., of, by mixing; to reduce, especially by the addition of water; to temper; to attenuate; to weaken.
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Lest these colors should be diluted and weakened by the mixture of any adventitious light. Sir I. Newton.
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Dilute (?), v. i. To become attenuated, thin, or weak; as, it dilutes easily.
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Dilute (?), a. [L. dilutus, p. p.] Diluted; thin; weak.
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A dilute and waterish exposition. Hopkins.
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Diluted (?), a. Reduced in strength; thin; weak. -- Dilutedly, adv.
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Diluteness (?), n. The quality or state of being dilute. Bp. Wilkins.
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Diluter (?), n. One who, or that which, dilutes or makes thin, more liquid, or weaker.
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Dilution (?), n. [Cf. F. dilution.] The act of diluting, or the state of being diluted. Arbuthnot.
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Diluvial (?), a. [L. diluvialis. fr. diluvium.] 1. Of or pertaining to a flood or deluge, esp. to the great deluge in the days of Noah; diluvian.
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2. (Geol.) Effected or produced by a flood or deluge of water; -- said of coarse and imperfectly stratified deposits along ancient or existing water courses. Similar unstratified deposits were formed by the agency of ice. The time of deposition has been called the Diluvian epoch.
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Diluvialist, n. One who explains geological phenomena by the Noachian deluge. Lyell.
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Diluvian (?), a. [Cf. F. diluvien.] Of or pertaining to a deluge, esp. to the Noachian deluge; diluvial; as, of diluvian origin. Buckland.
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Diluviate (?), v. i. [L. diluviare.] To run as a flood. [Obs.] Sir E. Sandys.
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Diluvium (?), n.; pl. E. Diluviums (#), L. Diluvia (#). [L. diluvium. See , .] (Geol.) A deposit of superficial loam, sand, gravel, stones, etc., caused by former action of flowing waters, or the melting of glacial ice.
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☞ The accumulation of matter by the ordinary operation of water is termed alluvium.
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Dim (?), a. [Compar. Dimmer (?); superl. Dimmest (?).] [AS. dim; akin to OFries. dim, Icel. dimmr: cf. MHG. timmer, timber; of uncertain origin.] 1. Not bright or distinct; wanting luminousness or clearness; obscure in luster or sound; dusky; darkish; obscure; indistinct; overcast; tarnished.
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The dim magnificence of poetry. Whewell.
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How is the gold become dim! Lam. iv. 1.
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I never saw
The heavens so dim by day. Shak.
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Three sleepless nights I passed in sounding on,
Through words and things, a dim and perilous way. Wordsworth.
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2. Of obscure vision; not seeing clearly; hence, dull of apprehension; of weak perception; obtuse.
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Mine eye also is dim by reason of sorrow. Job xvii. 7.
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The understanding is dim. Rogers.
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☞ Obvious compounds: dim-eyed; dim-sighted, etc.

Syn. -- Obscure; dusky; dark; mysterious; imperfect; dull; sullied; tarnished.
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Dim, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dimmed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dimming.] 1. To render dim, obscure, or dark; to make less bright or distinct; to take away the luster of; to darken; to dull; to obscure; to eclipse.
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A king among his courtiers, who dims all his attendants. Dryden.
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Now set the sun, and twilight dimmed the ways. Cowper.
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2. To deprive of distinct vision; to hinder from seeing clearly, either by dazzling or clouding the eyes; to darken the senses or understanding of.
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Her starry eyes were dimmed with streaming tears. C. Pitt.
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Dim, v. i. To grow dim. J. C. Shairp.
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Dimble (?), n. [Prob. orig., a cavity, and the same word as dimple. See .] A bower; a dingle. [Obs.] Drayton.
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Dime (dīm), n. [F. dîme tithe, OF. disme, fr. L. decimus the tenth, fr. decem ten. See .] A silver coin of the United States, of the value of ten cents; the tenth of a dollar.
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Coloq. Dime novel , a novel, commonly sensational and trashy, which is sold for a dime, or ten cents; -- they were popular from ca. 1850 to ca. 1920. Sometimes the term is still applied to any novel of the type, though the price has greatly increased.
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Dimension (?), n. [L. dimensio, fr. dimensus, p. p. of dimetiri to measure out; di- = dis- + metiri to measure: cf. F. dimension. See .] 1. Measure in a single line, as length, breadth, height, thickness, or circumference; extension; measurement; -- usually, in the plural, measure in length and breadth, or in length, breadth, and thickness; extent; size; as, the dimensions of a room, or of a ship; the dimensions of a farm, of a kingdom.
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Gentlemen of more than ordinary dimensions. W. Irving.
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Coloq. Space of dimension , extension that has length but no breadth or thickness; a straight or curved line. -- Coloq. Space of two dimensions , extension which has length and breadth, but no thickness; a plane or curved surface. -- Coloq. Space of three dimensions , extension which has length, breadth, and thickness; a solid. -- Coloq. Space of four dimensions , as imaginary kind of extension, which is assumed to have length, breadth, thickness, and also a fourth imaginary dimension. Space of five or six, or more dimensions is also sometimes assumed in mathematics.
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2. Extent; reach; scope; importance; as, a project of large dimensions.
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3. (Math.) The degree of manifoldness of a quantity; as, time is quantity having one dimension; volume has three dimensions, relative to extension.
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4. (Alg.) A literal factor, as numbered in characterizing a term. The term dimensions forms with the cardinal numbers a phrase equivalent to degree with the ordinal; thus, a2b2c is a term of five dimensions, or of the fifth degree.
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5. pl. (Phys.) The manifoldness with which the fundamental units of time, length, and mass are involved in determining the units of other physical quantities. Thus, since the unit of velocity varies directly as the unit of length and inversely as the unit of time, the dimensions of velocity are said to be length ÷ time; the dimensions of work are mass × (length)2 ÷ (time)2; the dimensions of density are mass ÷ (length)3.

Coloq. Dimensional lumber , Coloq. Dimension lumber , Coloq. Dimension scantling , or Coloq. Dimension stock (Carp.), lumber for building, etc., cut to the sizes usually in demand, or to special sizes as ordered. -- Coloq. Dimension stone , stone delivered from the quarry rough, but brought to such sizes as are requisite for cutting to dimensions given.
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Dimensional (?), a. Pertaining to dimension.
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Dimensioned (?), a. Having dimensions. [R.]
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Dimensionless (?), a. Without dimensions; having no appreciable or noteworthy extent. Milton.
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Dimensity (?), n. Dimension. [R.] Howell.
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Dimensive (?), a. Without dimensions; marking dimensions or the limits.
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Who can draw the soul's dimensive lines? Sir J. Davies.
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Dimera (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. di- = dis- twice + � part.] (Zoöl.) (a) A division of Coleoptera, having two joints to the tarsi. (b) A division of the Hemiptera, including the aphids.
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Dimeran (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of the Dimera.
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Dimerous (?), a. [Gr. di- = dis- twice + � part.] Composed of, or having, two parts of each kind.
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☞ A dimerous flower has two sepals, two petals, two stamens, and two pistils.
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Dimeter (?), a. [L. dimeter, Gr. �; di- = dis- twice + � measure.] Having two poetical measures or meters. -- n. A verse of two meters.
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Dimethyl (?), n. [Pref. di- + methyl.] (Chem.) Ethane; -- sometimes so called because regarded as consisting of two methyl radicals. See .
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Dimetric (?), a. [See , a.] (Crystallog.) Same as . Dana.
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Dimication (?), n. [L. dimicatio, fr. dimicare to fight.] A fight; contest. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
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Dimidiate (?), a. [L. dimidiatus, p. p. of dimidiare to halve, fr. dimidius half. See .] 1. Divided into two equal parts; reduced to half in shape or form.
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2. (Biol.) (a) Consisting of only one half of what the normal condition requires; having the appearance of lacking one half; as, a dimidiate leaf, which has only one side developed. (b) Having the organs of one side, or half, different in function from the corresponding organs on the other side; as, dimidiate hermaphroditism.
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Dimidiate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dimidiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Dimidiating.] 1. To divide into two equal parts. [Obs.] Cockeram.
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2. (Her.) To represent the half of; to halve.
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Dimidiation (?), n. [L. dimidiatio.] The act of dimidiating or halving; the state of being dimidiate.
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Diminish (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diminished (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Diminishing.] [Pref. di- (= L. dis-) + minish: cf. L. diminuere, F. diminuer, OE. diminuen. See , and .] 1. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase.
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Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt. Barrow.
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2. To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken.
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This doth nothing diminish their opinion. Robynson (More's Utopia).
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I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. Ezek. xxix. 15.
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O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars
Hide their diminished heads. Milton.
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3. (Mus.) To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh.
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4. To take away; to subtract.
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Neither shall ye diminish aught from it. Deut. iv. 2.
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Coloq. Diminished column , one whose upper diameter is less than the lower. -- Coloq. Diminished scale , or Coloq. Diminishing scale , a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute. Gwilt. -- Coloq. Diminishing rule (Arch.), a board cut with a concave edge, for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft. -- Coloq. Diminishing stile (Arch.), a stile which is narrower in one part than in another, as in many glazed doors.

Syn. -- To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail; impair; degrade. See .
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Diminish, v. i. To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it.
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Diminishable (?), a. Capable of being diminished or lessened.
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Diminisher (?), n. One who, or that which, diminishes anything. Clerke (1637).
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Diminishingly, adv. In a manner to diminish.
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Diminishment (?), n. Diminution. [R.] Cheke.
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Diminuendo (?), adv. [It., p. pr. of diminuere to diminish.] (Mus.) In a gradually diminishing manner; with abatement of tone; decrescendo; -- expressed on the staff by Dim., or Dimin., or the sign.
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Diminuent (?), a. [L. diminuens, p. pr. of diminuere. See .] Lessening. Bp. Sanderson.
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Diminutal (?), a. Indicating or causing diminution. Earle.
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Diminute (?), a. Small; diminished; diminutive. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.
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Diminutely, adv. Diminutively. [Obs.]
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Diminution (?), n. [L. diminutio, or perh. rather deminutio: cf. F. diminution. See .] 1. The act of diminishing, or of making or becoming less; state of being diminished; reduction in size, quantity, or degree; -- opposed to augmentation or increase.
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2. The act of lessening dignity or consideration, or the state of being deprived of dignity; a lowering in estimation; degradation; abasement.
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The world's opinion or diminution of me. Eikon Basilike.
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Nor thinks it diminution to be ranked
In military honor next. Philips.
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