Subside

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /sʌbˈsaɪd/

Definitions

1. To decrease in intensity, force, or severity ; to move downward or settle gradually, often after rising or swelling
2. To diminish or calm down in strength or activity ; to gradually lower or sink to a more stable position
3. To lessen or abate in degree or intensity ; to settle down slowly from a higher or raised state

Etymology: The verb "subside" carries a physical picture in its Latin ancestor: "subsīdō" meant to settle down, sink, or squat, built from "sub-" (under) and "sīdō" (to sit down or settle). Its earliest sense was literal, the sinking of something heavy into a lower position, such as ground or a flood-swollen river dropping back toward its banks. English took the word over from Latin, and the abstract senses grew out of that concrete image. Something that settles down slowly is one that loses height or weight, so the same movement came to describe a storm, a fever, or an argument losing force. The modern sense of lessening in degree or intensity is thus a figurative extension of the original physical act of sinking.

Synonyms: diminish, lessen, abate, recede, drop

Antonyms: intensify, increase, rise, grow, surge