Word: diminish
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Kids' lives are crowded with trophies and awards--the computer-generated commendatory certificates blow through my house like ticker tape; they get underfoot and gather on the floor of the car. All of this is part of "achievement inflation," and I think it may actually diminish the intended effect of all this acclamation, which is to make kids feel proud and accomplished for doing something difficult and important. Peter L. Sheras, professor of child development at the University of Virginia, says that while "the idea of celebrating life events can be really useful, we are becoming addicted to celebrating...
...Israelis feel the present situation can't continue, but they have few strategic alternatives. Destroying the Palestinian Authority will not diminish the threat from Hamas or make Palestinians more pliant. If anything, it could create a power vacuum in which local warlords would assume power and there would be an upsurge in violence with fewer mechanisms of control...
...tremendous growth in the endowment income in recent years has helped to diminish concerns over the spending rate among faculty...
...from whom you learn. I first realized this when I noticed the lasting link in my memory between the books I have read and the places I read them. Foolhardily, I often try to read and walk at the same time. (My comprehension and my walking speed both diminish, but there are more distractions in my room than on a sidewalk in Waltham.) An unexpected consequence of this habit is that books and places become inextricably connected, each evoking the other as surely as the smell of Christmas trees means family and childhood...
...named Wayne Tedrow Jr., who has been paid $6,000 by casino operators in his hometown to kill a black pimp named Wendell Durfee. Bondurant and Littell strongarm Jack Ruby into shooting Lee Harvey Oswald, but Tedrow blows his murderous assignment during a fit of conscience. His scruples will diminish when he hooks up with Littell and Bondurant...