Reduced

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈdjuːst/

Definitions

1. Made smaller or less in size, quantity, or degree ; lowered or diminished in amount, intensity, or price ; simplified to a less complex or more accessible form
2. Decreased in extent or scope ; cut down in number, strength, or value ; made easier to understand or perform
3. Changed to a smaller scale or amount ; brought down in level or cost ; adapted to be less complicated or demanding

Etymology: "Reduced" is the past tense and past participle of "reduce", so its history is that of the verb. The verb came into English in Middle English from Old French "reduire", which in turn came from Latin "redūcere", built from "re-" meaning "back" and "dūcere" meaning "to lead". Its literal sense was therefore "to lead back", and that core idea of bringing something back to a previous or smaller state runs through its later meanings. The English verb kept that sense of leading or bringing back for a long time before narrowing toward making something smaller. Its "lead back" meaning survives in phrases such as "reduce a fraction" or "reduce a problem to its essentials", where the thing is brought back to a simpler form. The sense of cutting something down in number, strength, or value developed from the same idea of bringing a thing down to a lesser state.

Synonyms: diminished, lessened, abated, curtailed, decreased

Antonyms: increased, expanded, augmented, enhanced, amplified