minimize — English Dictionary

Verb

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

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   besmallsmallify

   Antonyms

   maximize

   Examples

   We have to minimize the budget.

   Try to minimize your biases.

   More examples (3)

   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.

2. To relegate or assign (something) to a less insignificant status; diminish.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   lessenlowerreduce

   Examples

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

3. To remove (a window) from the main display area, collapsing it to an icon or caption.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Antonyms

   maximize

   Examples

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

4. To treat (someone) in a slighting manner.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Examples

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

5. To treat as trivial or insignificant; to trivialize.

   Usage

   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   banalizedisparageplay down

   Examples

   to minimize someone's feelings

Verb

1. make small or insignificant

   Synonyms

   minimise

   Antonyms

   maximize

   Broader terms

   decreaselessenminify

   Examples

   Let's minimize the risk

2. represent as less significant or important

   Synonyms

   understateminimisedownplay

   Broader terms

   inform

3. cause to seem less serious; play down

   Synonyms

   belittledenigratederogate

   Broader terms

   disparagebelittlepick at

   Examples

   Don't belittle his influence