Subsided

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To become less intense, severe, or active over time ; to move downward or recede from a higher position or level
2. When a condition, feeling, or activity decreases in strength or intensity ; when something sinks or retreats from its previous place
3. The process of diminishing in force, severity, or volume ; the action of going down or withdrawing from an elevated condition

Etymology: "Subsided" is the past tense and past participle of "subside", so the word's history is really the history of its base verb. That verb comes from Latin "subsīdere", built from "sub" ("under, down") and "sīdere" ("to sit down, settle"), a relative of "sedere", "to sit", which also gave English "sediment" and "session". The Latin sense was physical: a thing sinks down and comes to rest, as dregs settle to the bottom of a liquid or a building sinks into the ground. Over time the physical settling gave way to figurative uses. Something that sinks down from a higher level, such as floodwater or a swelling, recedes, and from there a storm, a fever, or an argument can likewise lose its force and die away. The modern sense of gradually diminishing in intensity grew directly out of that image of matter sinking to rest.

Synonyms: diminished, abated

Antonyms: intensified, increased