verb · neutral
lessen
/ˈles.ən/LES·sen
to make something smaller in size, amount, or degree
Examples
“Improving public transport can lessen traffic congestion.”
“Policies were introduced to lessen the health risks from pollution.”
“She tried to lessen the tension in the meeting by making a joke.”
Band 8 sentence
“To lessen the environmental impact of tourism, local councils should introduce stricter waste-management rules and limit visitor numbers in fragile areas.”
Collocations
- lessen the impact
- lessen the risk of
- lessen someone's chances
Word family
Common mistakes
It lessen the chance of success.→It lessens the chance of success.
Many lesson have been introduced to tackle pollution.→Many lessons have been introduced to tackle pollution.
Say it for a higher band
5cut down (on)→6reduce→7+lessen
Synonyms
reduce
decrease
Easily confused
reduce
“Strict rules can reduce traffic accidents.”
lesson
“She learnt an important lesson about saving money.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In -en
Learn it with its set