decrease, diminish, lessen, reduce, dwindle

名詞 decrease:

1. a change downward
   同義詞：lessening, drop-off
2. a process of becoming smaller or shorter
   同義詞：decrement
3. the amount by which something decreases
   同義詞：decrement
4. the act of decreasing or reducing something
   同義詞：diminution, reduction, step-down

動(dòng)詞 decrease:

1. decrease in size, extent, or range
   同義詞：diminish, lessen, fall
2. make smaller
   同義詞：lessen, minify

1. There has been a steady decrease in population in this city.
   這個(gè)城市的人口在持續(xù)下降。
2. They are making further efforts to decrease military spending.
   他們正在做進(jìn)一步的努力來(lái)減少軍費(fèi)開(kāi)支。
3. His interest in this subject gradually decreases.
   他對(duì)這門(mén)學(xué)科的興趣逐漸減退。

de.crease

v.intr.tr.（不及物動(dòng)詞和及物動(dòng)詞）
de.creased,de.creas.ing,de.creas.es
To grow or cause to grow gradually less or smaller, as in number, amount, or intensity.
減少：在數(shù)目、數(shù)量或強(qiáng)度方面逐漸變得或使…變得少或小
n.（名詞）

The act or process of decreasing.
減少：減小、減少的過(guò)程
The amount by which something decreases.
減少量，減少額

來(lái)源：
Middle English decresen
中古英語(yǔ) decresen
from Old French decreistre decreiss-
源自 古法語(yǔ) decreistre decreiss-
from Latin dôcrôscere
源自 拉丁語(yǔ) dôcrôscere
dô- [de-]
dô- [除去]
crôscere [to grow] * see ker- 2
crôscere [增長(zhǎng)] *參見(jiàn) ker- 2

【引伸】
decreas.ingly
adv.（副詞）
<參考詞匯><同義詞>decrease,lessen,reduce,dwindle,abate,diminish,subsideThese verbs mean to become or cause to become smaller or less.
這些動(dòng)詞的意義為變得或使…變得小或少。
Decrease and lessen, interchangeable in most contexts, refer to steady or gradual diminution:
Decrease 和 lessen 在大多數(shù)上下文中可互換， 指穩(wěn)定或逐步的減少：
例句：
Traffic decreases on holidays.
節(jié)假日行人車(chē)輛減少了。

例句：
Lack of success decreases confidence.
失敗使信心漸減。

例句：
Use your seat belt to lessen the danger of injury in an accident.
系上座椅安全帶，減少交通事故中受傷的危險(xiǎn)。

例句：
His appetite lessens as his illness progresses.
隨著病情的加重，他的食欲下降了。

Reduce emphasizes bringing down, as in size, degree, or intensity:
Reduce 強(qiáng)調(diào)在大小、程度或強(qiáng)度方面下降或減少：
例句：
The workers reduced their wage demands.
工人們降低了他們?cè)诠べY方面的要求。

Dwindle suggests decreasing bit by bit to a vanishing point:
Dwindle 含有一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)減少直到消失的意思：
例句：
Their savings dwindled away.
他們的積蓄一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)地消耗殆盡了。

Abate stresses a decrease in amount or intensity and suggests a reduction of excess:
Abate 強(qiáng)調(diào)在數(shù)量或強(qiáng)度方面減少，含有去除多余的數(shù)量的意思：
例句：
Toward evening the fire began to abate.
快到傍晚的時(shí)候，火勢(shì)減弱了。

例句：
Nothing can abate the force of that argument.
什么也不能減弱那場(chǎng)辯論的影響力。

Diminish implies taking away or removal:
Diminish 含有拿走或除去的意思：
例句：
An occasional outburst didn`t diminish my respect for her.
偶爾的一次發(fā)火并未減少我對(duì)她的尊敬。

例句：
The warden`s authority diminished after the revolt.
典獄長(zhǎng)的權(quán)威在動(dòng)亂后下降了。

Subside implies a falling away to a more normal level:
Subside 含有降到一個(gè)更正常的水平的意思：
例句：
The wild enthusiasm the team`s victory aroused did not subside.
那支球隊(duì)的勝利所激起的狂熱之情沒(méi)有消退