lessen

Everyday

1. To make something smaller, weaker or less: to lessen pain, noise or danger. tree →
2. To become smaller, weaker or less. tree →

In the lessons

Used in science and safety: «A helmet lessens the risk of a head injury», «Insulation lessens heat loss». In feelings: «Talking to a friend lessened her worry». In maths word problems it means a decrease. Phrases: «lessen the risk», «lessen the pain», «lessen the impact», «the wind lessened».

Examples

• Wearing a helmet lessens the danger of hurting your head. tree →
• The medicine lessened the pain in my tooth. tree →
• The rain lessened, so we went outside. tree →
• Talking about it lessened my worry. tree →
• Planting trees can lessen flooding. tree →
• Turn the music down to lessen the noise. tree →
• The number of pupils with colds lessened after the holidays. tree →
• It thanked the Princess most heartily for her goodness, and said that its sufferings had already been greatly lessened. tree →

Note

Regular verb: lessened, lessening. Homophone trap: «lessen» (to make less) sounds exactly like «lesson» (a period of teaching). In maths, «lessen by 5» means subtract 5: 20 lessened by 5 is 15. Formal-ish; everyday words are «reduce», «cut down», «ease».