Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases by Peter Mark Roget

subtraction &c 38; reduction, abatement, declension; shrinking &c (contraction.) 195; coarctation†; abridgment &c (shortening) 201; extenuation. subsidence, wane, ebb, decline; ebbing; descent &c 306; decrement, reflux, depreciation; deterioration &c 659; anticlimax; mitigation &c (moderation) 174. V. decrease, diminish, lessen; abridge &c (shorten) 201; shrink &c (contract) 195; drop off, fall off, tail off; fall away, waste, wear; wane, ebb, decline; descend &c 306; subside; melt away, die away; retire into the shade, hide its diminished head, fall to a low ebb, run low, languish, decay, crumble. bate, abate, dequantitate†; discount; depreciate; extenuate, lower, weaken, attenuate, fritter away; mitigate &c (moderate) 174; dwarf, throw into the shade; reduce &c 195; shorten &c 201; subtract &c 38. Adj. unincreased† &c 35; decreased &c v.; decreasing &c v.; on the wane &c n.. Phr. a gilded halo hovering round decay [Byron]; fine by degrees and beautifully less [Prior].