himmennä

Himmennä is a Finnish verb meaning to reduce brightness or intensity of something, most commonly to dim lights. The verb can also be used figuratively to soften colors, lower volume, or dull a tone. It is transitive, taking a direct object that describes what is being dimmed.

In practical use, himmennä appears in phrases such as Himmennä valot (Dim the lights) or Himmennä valon voimakkuutta. Grammatically, it is a regular -ä verb. Present-tense forms are: minä himmennän, sinä himmennät, hän himmennää, me himmennämme, te himmennätte, he himmennävät. The imperative form is himmennä (dim!). The past tense forms follow standard Finnish patterns, for example: minä himensin, sinä himmensit, hän himensi, me himensimme, te himsitte, he himensivät.

Himmennys is the noun corresponding to the action, meaning dimming or reduction of brightness, and himmennetty is the past participle meaning dimmed. The term is commonly used in lighting technology as well as in metaphorical language, for instance to dim down intensity in a discussion or atmosphere. The word can also appear in compound forms such as valonhimmentäminen, referring to the act or process of dimming light.

See also: valonhimmentäminen, valon säätö sekä yleisemmin valaistuksen säätöön liittyvät termit.