lessened; lessening
ˈle-sᵊn-iŋ 
ˈles-niŋ
: to shrink in size, number, or degree : decrease
The pain will lessen over time.
1
: to reduce in size, extent, or degree
lessen tensions between nations
2
a
archaic
: to represent as of little value
b
: to lower in status or dignity : degrade
Examples of lessen in a Sentence
Medication helps lessen the severity of the symptoms.
we lessened our efforts as it became clear they weren't having an effect
Recent Examples on the Web
Continuous care can be made possible with AI’s capacity to process enormous volumes of real-time health data, giving individuals a richer, moment-to-moment picture of their bodies and potentially lessening the need for expensive emergency interventions.
—
Gaurav Tewari, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
But the alkaloids in tea allow the body to absorb the caffeine much more slowly, lessening the chance of experiencing that annoying coffee crash.
—Christina Pérez, Vogue, 27 May 2025
Since then, a growing number of mainstream politicians and pundits in South Korea have advocated for the development of the country’s own nuclear weapons as a way of lessening its reliance on U.S. protection.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025
Meanwhile, Windows 11 OS brings the Copilot assistant to your fingertips, lessening your workload by summarizing key notes from documents, emails, and web pages, and generating text and images with just a few clicks.
—Jade Chung-Lee, PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lessen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Gaurav Tewari, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
But the alkaloids in tea allow the body to absorb the caffeine much more slowly, lessening the chance of experiencing that annoying coffee crash.
—Christina Pérez, Vogue, 27 May 2025
Since then, a growing number of mainstream politicians and pundits in South Korea have advocated for the development of the country’s own nuclear weapons as a way of lessening its reliance on U.S. protection.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025
Meanwhile, Windows 11 OS brings the Copilot assistant to your fingertips, lessening your workload by summarizing key notes from documents, emails, and web pages, and generating text and images with just a few clicks.
—Jade Chung-Lee, PC Magazine, 22 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for lessen
Cite this Entry
“Lessen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lessen. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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