Lessen vs Curtail - What's the difference?
lessen | curtail | Related terms |
To make less; to diminish; to reduce.
* Calamy
* Atterbury
* {{quote-news
, year=2011
, date=December 16
, author=Denis Campbell
, title=Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'
, work=Guardian
To become less.
(obsolete) To cut short the tail of an animal
To shorten or abridge the duration of something; to truncate.
(figuratively) To limit or restrict, keep in check.
* Macaulay
Lessen is a related term of curtail.
In lang=en terms the difference between lessen and curtail
is that lessen is to become less while curtail is to shorten or abridge the duration of something; to truncate.As verbs the difference between lessen and curtail
is that lessen is to make less; to diminish; to reduce while curtail is (obsolete) to cut short the tail of an animal.As a noun curtail is
(architecture) a scroll termination, as of a step, etc.lessen
English
Verb
(en verb)- Charity shall lessen his punishment.
- St. Paul chose to magnify his office when ill men conspired to lessen it.
citation, page= , passage=Many hospitals have not taken simple steps to lessen the distress and confusion which dementia sufferers' often feel on being somewhere so unfamiliar – such as making signs large and easy to read, using colour schemes to help patients find their way around unfamiliar wards and not putting family mementoes such as photographs nearby.}}
Anagrams
* * English ergative verbs ----curtail
English
Verb
(en verb)- ''Curtailing horses procured long horse-hair.
- When the audience grew restless, the speaker curtailed her speech.
- Their efforts to curtail spending didn't quite succeed.
- Our incomes have been curtailed ; his salary has been doubled.
