Minimize

/ˈmɪn.ɪ.maɪz/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To make (something) smaller or as small as possible; shrink; reduce..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To make (something) smaller or as small as possible; shrink; reduce.
2. (transitive) To relegate or assign (something) to a less insignificant status; diminish.
3. (computing, transitive, graphical user interface) To remove (a window) from the main display area, collapsing it to an icon or caption.
4. (transitive) To treat (someone) in a slighting manner.
5. (transitive) To treat as trivial or insignificant; to trivialize.

Example Sentences

We have to minimize the budget.

Try to minimize your biases.

Terry, author of the indispensable Terry's Guide to Mexico, has a name for it – atrabiliousness. "The defect of many of the murals," he says, speaking of those in the orphan asylum, "is the facial atrabiliousness of some of the subjects. To the observer it minimizes the grandeur of the conception […]"

For accurate stopping, the drive must incorporate means for minimizing inertia overdrift.

One way to minimize or mitigate the copycat effect is to deemphasize the perpetrator and deglorify the violence in real and fictional stories.

The insurance adjuster tried to minimize the extent of the damage to lessen the company's exposure to liability.

I didn't close anything, but I minimized all the windows so I could see the desktop.

[…] father who had never openly minimized him or anything he did […]

Synonyms for minimize

Antonyms for minimize

Related Words

Word Forms

• minimizes
• minimizing
• minimized
• minimise

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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