verb · neutral
minimise
UK/ˈmɪnɪmaɪz/US/ˈmɪnəˌmaɪz/MIN·i·mise
Band 6-7speakingtask2
to reduce something, especially something bad, to the lowest possible level
Examples
“In Task 2 many writers try to minimise opposing views rather than address them properly.”
“Policy-makers aim to minimise economic disruption during the transition.”
“You should say how you would minimise risks when describing a planning problem in Part 3.”
Band 8 sentence
“To achieve long-term sustainability, policymakers must minimise short-term costs without sacrificing social equity.”
Collocations
- minimise the impact
- minimise risks
Word family
minimal adjectiveminimise verbminimisation noun
Common mistakes
use 'reduce' in all formal contexts→minimise
Say it for a higher band
5reduce→6decrease→7+minimise
Synonyms
reduce
mitigate
Easily confused
minimize
“They took steps to minimise the environmental damage.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Sublist 10
Learn it with its set