Disminuir

Disminuir is a Spanish verb that means to make something smaller in amount, degree, or value; to decrease, reduce, or lower. It is used in many contexts, including quantities (disminuir el gasto), intensity (disminuir la intensidad), or frequency (disminuir la frecuencia de un evento). It can be transitive, with a direct object, or intransitive when the subject itself undergoes a decrease (la temperatura disminuyó).

Etymology: the verb comes from Latin diminuere, formed by dis- (a prefix indicating reversal or separation) and minuere “to lessen.” The modern form reflects phonetic changes over time and parallels related words such as “minuir” in some Romance languages.

Usage and syntax: disminuir is used with direct objects to express reducing or lowering something (disminuir la velocidad, disminuir la pobreza). It also appears in intransitive use, where the subject itself decreases (la población disminuye). Common auxiliary constructions include adverbs like gradualmente, poco a poco, rápidamente. In scientific and technical language, it often appears in contexts of performance, cost, or measurements.

Conjugation: disminuir is a regular -uir verb with a spelling change in several forms. Present indicative: yo disminuyo, tú disminuyes, él disminuye, nosotros disminuimos, vosotros disminuís, ellos disminuyen. Preterite: disminuí, disminuiste, disminuyó, disminuimos, disminuisteis, disminuyeron. Imperfect: disminuía, disminuías, disminuía, disminuíamos, disminuíais, disminuían. Future: disminuiré, disminuirás, disminuirá, disminuiremos, disminuiréis, disminuirán. Subjunctive present: disminuya, disminuyas, disminuya, disminuyamos, disminuyáis, disminuyan. Gerund: disminuyendo. Past participle: disminuido.

Related terms include disminución (diminishment) and disminuido (diminished). Synonyms include reducir, aminorar, mermar.