Minimize Meaning
/ˈmɪn.ɪ.maɪz/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo make (something) smaller or as small as possible; shrink; reduce.
verbTo relegate or assign (something) to a less insignificant status; diminish.
Sentence Examples
A new initiative strives to minimize the number of accidents.
I want to minimize the chances of another accident.
Good hygiene helps to minimize the risk of infection.
CEFR Practice Quiz
To reduce the risk of fire, we should ____ the use of open flames.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
To ____ the risk of injury while exercising, it is essential to always warm up properly before starting any intense physical activity.
Word Origin & History
From Latin minimus + -ize.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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 […]""
— 1948, Willard Price, Roving South, Rio Grande to Patagonia, New York, N.Y.: J. Day Co., →OCLC, page 13:
"For accurate stopping, the drive must incorporate means for minimizing inertia overdrift."
— 1954, Instruments and Control Systems - Volume 27, page 1466:
"One way to minimize or mitigate the copycat effect is to deemphasize the perpetrator and deglorify the violence in real and fictional stories."
— 2023, Jacqueline B. Helfgott, Copycat Crime:
"[…] father who had never openly minimized him or anything he did […]"
— 1993, Jan McDaniel, One Golden Summer, page 95:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
To reduce the risk of fire, we should ____ the use of open flames.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
To ____ the risk of injury while exercising, it is essential to always warm up properly before starting any intense physical activity.