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Dwindle vs Demean - What's the difference?

dwindle | demean |

As verbs the difference between dwindle and demean

is that dwindle is to decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size while demean is to debase; to lower; to degrade or demean can be to manage; to conduct; to treat.

As a noun demean is

(archaic) management; treatment or demean can be demesne.

dwindle

English

Verb

(dwindl)
  • To decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size.
  • * 1802 , , translated by T. Paynell,
    • [E]very thing that was improving gradually degenerates and dwindles away to nothing,
  • (figuratively) To fall away in quality; degenerate, sink.
    • The flattery of his friends began to dwindle into simple approbation.'' (''Goldsmith , Vicar, III)
  • * Jonathan Swift
    • Religious societies, though begun with excellent intentions, are said to have dwindled into factious clubs.
  • * 1919 ,
    • The larger the empire, the more dwindles the mind of the citizen.
  • * '>citation
  • To lessen; to bring low.
  • * Thomson
    • Our drooping days are dwindled down to naught.
  • To break; to disperse.
    • (Clarendon)

    References

    demean

    English

    Etymology 1

    (1595) From . Compare English (m).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To debase; to lower; to degrade.
  • * Thackeray
    • Her son would demean himself by a marriage with an artist's daughter.
  • To humble, humble oneself; to humiliate.
  • To mortify.
    • Synonyms
    * debase * lower * degrade

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To manage; to conduct; to treat.
  • * Milton
    • [Our] clergy have with violence demeaned the matter.
  • To conduct; to behave; to comport; followed by the reflexive pronoun.
  • * Shakespeare
    • They have demeaned themselves / Like men born to renown by life or death.
  • * Clarendon
    • They answered that they should demean themselves according to their instructions.

    Noun

  • (archaic) Management; treatment.
  • * Spenser
    • vile demean and usage bad
  • (archaic) Behavior; conduct; bearing; demeanor.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , V.5:
  • *:‘When thou hast all this doen, then bring me newes / Of his demeane […].’
  • * West
    • with grave demean and solemn vanity

    Related terms

    * demeanor

    Etymology 3

    Var. of demesne.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • demesne.
  • resources; means.

    • Anagrams

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