Minimize

Definition: Minimize

Minimize

Verb

1. Make small or insignificant; "Let's minimize the risk".

2. Represent as less significant or important.

3. Belittle; "Don't belittle his influence".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "minimize" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1869. (references)

Note: Minimize \Min"i*mize\, transitive verb. [imperative past participle Minimized; present participle verb or noun Minimizimg.]. (references)

Synonyms: Minimize

Underestimation

Make light of, make little of, make nothing of, make no account of; belittle; minimize, think nothing of; set no store by, set at naught; shake off as dewdrops from the lion's mane.

Crosswords: Minimize

And four help you through the night, help to minimize your plight (Mother's Little Helper; performing artist: The Rolling Stones)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Communities of Commerce: Building Internet Business Communities to Accelerate Growth, Minimize Risk, and Increase Customer Loyalty [DOWNLOAD: MICROSOFT READER] (reference)

• Contractor's Year-Round Tax Guide: Plan Your Business to Minimize Your Taxes (reference)

• Estate Planning and Administration: How to Maximize Assets, Minimize Taxes, and Protect Loved Ones (reference)

• Evaluating the Value of Peer-to-Peer - Optimization Servers Will Minimize the Architecture's Flaws [DOWNLOAD: PDF] (reference)

• Self-Care Now! 30 Tips to Help You Take Care of Yourself & Minimize Caregiver Burnout (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Back Care for Maritime Industry: Part 2, Minimize the Risk (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Erosion - ironically below a sign stating boat speed limit to minimize wake and erosion. Credit: America's Coastlines.

Closing the purse seine. This picture of early tuna purse seining operations illustrates that often dolphins and other marine mammals were caught as a byproduct of tuna fishing. Today, efforts are made to minimize the harm to marine mammal species during tuna purse seining operations. Credit: Fisheries.

The fourth in a series of images that show the specialized "spyder" at work at the Glade Bekken restoration site. The spyder was used at the restoration site to prevent and minimize disturbance to the habitat. The machine crawls and walks over the surface as opposed to rolling over and flattening sensitive habitats. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

The fifth in a series of images that show the specialized "spyder" at work at the Glade Bekken restoration site. The spyder was used at the restoration site to prevent and minimize disturbance to the habitat. The machine crawls and walks over the surface as opposed to rolling over and flattening sensitive habitats. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

The second in a series of images that show the specialized "spyder" at work at the Glade Bekken restoration site. The spyder was used at the restoration site to prevent and minimize disturbance to the habitat. The machine crawls and walks over the surface as opposed to rolling over and flattening sensitive habitats. This image shows the spyder crawling. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

The third in a series of images that show the specialized "spyder" at work at the Glade Bekken restoration site. The spyder was used at the restoration site to prevent and minimize disturbance to the habitat. The machine crawls and walks over the surface as opposed to rolling over and flattening sensitive habitats. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center.

Plastic bags are meant to discourage boobies from landing on the masthead. Apparently they don't work. Diners on deck below have to minimize upward looks upward and maximize cover over food. On the NOAA Ship McARTHUR during STAR 2000 operations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Figure 25. A roller guide, devised by Jules Le Blanc following a suggestion of Prince Albert I of Monaco. Used to minimize chance of tangling cables during oceanographic operations. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now.

Gated pipe helps farmers improve irrigation water management and minimize irrigation induced erosion. Credit: Dan Ogle.

Producers and marketers can minimize pre-slaughter fasting stress in cattle by feeding animals regularly. And the practice could do a lot to maintain the normal balance of rumen microbes and suppress bacterial like E. coli 0157:H7. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Brian Prechtel..

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Health

Rehabilitation strategies can minimize the long-term disability. (references)

Chloroquine should be taken on a full stomach to minimize nausea. (references)

Minimize distractions, such as a blaring radio, whenever possible. (references)

Business

Thus, parties to leasing transactions use insurance fairly often to minimize their risks. (references)

Services are offered on a regional basis in order to minimize the distances waste has to be transported. (references)

By doing this, Lietuvos Telekomas expects to minimize the wait time in areas with no fixed line infrastructure. (references)

Civil Liberties

Belarus

The regime made use of its monopoly of television broadcasting to present biased news coverage and to minimize the presentation of opposing points of view. (references)

Ghana

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and in practice these provisions generally were respected; however, there were occasional reports that government officials pressured government media outlets to cease or minimize coverage of opposition politicians. (references)

Economic History

Luxembourg

This system has helped to minimize and where possible avoid labor conflicts in Luxembourg. (references)

Human Rights

China

Likewise, the Procuratorate announced 10 new rules designed to minimize corruption in and to foster cost-consciousness among the procuratorates. (references)

Guinea

According to Amnesty International, the army made little or no effort to minimize civilian deaths and injuries when artillery and helicopter gunships attacked five towns and villages in the Kambia District of Sierra Leone. (references)

Indigenous People

Ecuador

Oil companies increased their efforts to minimize the environmental and social impact of their oil projects in the Amazon but continued to face criticism from indigenous groups that environmental damage continues. (references)

Political Economy

AUSTRIA

Designed to minimize social unrest, this consensual approach has come under criticism for slowing the pace of economic reforms. (references)

Ghana

The Government generally respects freedom of speech and of the press; however, there were occasional reports that government officials pressured government media outlets to cease or minimize coverage of opposition politicians. (references)

China

So far, none has prompted the kind of mass protest movement that erupted in Beijing in the spring of 1989. The central authorities prefer to minimize tensions through the implementation of pragmatic policies, and they recognize that moves to reduce personal and economic freedoms would harm China's long-term interests. (references)

Trade

Korea

Careful documentation and handling of samples are essential to minimize problems. (references)

China

China is reforming its tax system to minimize distinctions between domestic and foreign entities according to the WTO principle of national treatment. (references)

India

Besides, all imports were subjected to an import duty aiming to protect the indigenous industries as well as to minimize the imports to secure stable exchange rate for Indian currency. (references)

Travel

Guyana

Security: Travelers should use caution to minimize risk of street crime. (references)

Slovak Rep

After initial meetings, written summaries of goals, objectives, and points of agreement or disagreement are encouraged to minimize misunderstandings between business parties. (references)

Worker Rights

China

However, in the private sector, legislated norms often conflict with the desire of firms to minimize production costs. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "minimize": minimize the importance ♦ to minimize the production of secondary waste. Additional references.

Albanian

minimizoj (downplay, lessen, minify, play down, underplay), zvogëloj (abate, belittle, curtail, decrease, diminish, lessen, make smaller, mitigate, qualify, rebate, reduce, relax, relieve, scale down, slacken, take away, take in, take up, understate). (various references)

Arabic 

‏قلل من شأن, ‏قلل (decrease, diminish, lessen, make less, minify, reduce, slim), ‏قلص (constrict, constringe, contract, cut, decrease, diminish, reduce, scale down), ‏قدر على أساس الحد الأدنى, ‏خفض (ax, axe, bear, bring down, cut, debase, deplete, depreciation, depress, dropping, lessen, lower, lowering, mark down, pull down, put down, rebate, recline, retrench, scale down, shorten, sink, slake, slam, slash, step down, stitch down, subdue, turn down, whittle down). (various references)

Bulgarian 

свеждам до минимум, омаловажавам (belittle, decry, denigrate, discount, disparage, enfeeble, extenuate, make little of, minify, palliate, play down, stultify, talk down, understate, whittle away), намалявам (abate, abbreviate, allay, attenuate, bring down, clip, contract, curtail, cut back, cut down, decline, decrease, deduct, deflate, degrade, deplete, detract, dim, diminish, ebb, extenuate, fine, impair, knock off, lessen, lighten, lull, minify, moderate, modify, pare down, prejudice, put back, put down, reduce, remit, run down, scant, shorten, shrink, sink, slacken, subdue, take from, thin, thin away, thin down, understate, wane, work down). (various references)

Chinese 

减到最小 (minimise, minimized, minimizing). (various references)

Czech

snížit na minimum, podceòovat (belittle, depreciate, disparage, dispraise, misprise, misprize). (various references)

Danish

minimalisere (minimization). (various references)

Dutch

minimaliseren. (various references)

Farsi 

کمینه کردن , کوچک شمردن , دست کم گرفتن (Underestimate, Underrate, Understate, Understatement), به حداقل رساندن . (various references)

Finnish

minimoida. (various references)

French

minimiser. (various references)

German

minimieren. (various references)

Greek 

σμικροποιώ, μειώνω στο ελάχιστο, περιορίζω (abridge, circumscribe, confine, constrict, contain, cramp, crib, cut down, inhibit, limit, localise, localize, reduce, restrict, retrench, scant, scotch, stint, straiten), υποτιμώ (belittle, debase, deflate, depreciate, depredate, derogate, devalue, disparage, misjudge, underestimate, underrate, understate, undervalue), ελαχιστοποιώ (minimise), ελαττώνω (abate, decrease, diminish, lessen, reduce). (various references)

Hebrew 

להמעיט בערכו (underestimate), לצמצם (contract, diminish, limit, narrow, reduce, restrict, scant, stunt). (various references)

Hungarian

minimalizál (to minimize), minimálisra csökkent, lekicsinyel (disdain, dispraise, to depreciate, to disparage, to minimize, to scorn, to underrate). (various references)

Italian

minimizzare (minimise, play down, soft pedal). (various references)

Korean 

극소화하십시요 (minimise). (various references)

Pig Latin

inimizemay.(various references)

Portuguese

minimizar (belittle, play down, understate). (various references)

Romanian

minimaliza (lessen, stultify, understate), reduce la minimum, diminua (adate, decline, decrease, depress, diminish, mitigate, reduce, retrench, take the edge off). (various references)

Russian 

минимизировать. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

minimalizovati, umanjiti (attenuate, cut back, decrease, detract, diminish, extenuate, make a hole in, minify, reduce, turn down). (various references)

Spanish

minimizar (belittle, play down, understate). (various references)

Swedish

minimera (minimise), förringa (belittle, cry down, deprecate, depreciate, derogate from, detract, detract from, extenuate, lessen, make light of, slight). (various references)

Turkish

küçümsemek (belittle, contemn, defy, depreciate, despise, disdain, flout, look down on, make light of, pooh pooh, scorn, sneer, underestimate, underrate, undervalue), küçültmek (abase, belittle, decrease, derogate, diminish, dispraise, lessen, lower, make smaller, miniaturize, minify, reduce, shrink), azaltmak (abate, alleviate, appease, attenuate, ax, axe, Bate, cut back, cut down on, deaden, decrease, depress, derogate, detract, diminish, dock, fade in, impair, lessen, make a dent in, mitigate, put down, reduce, retrench, scale down, shorten, sink, slim down, step back, step down, taper off). (various references)

Ukrainian

применшувати (belittle, derogate, diminish, minify, play down, understate), доводити до мінімуму. (various references)

Welsh

bychanu (belittle). (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "minimize": minimized, minimizer, minimizers, minimizes. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Minimize" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: mimimize, minami, minimaker, minimise, mininise, Mininote. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-3 letters: imine, minim, mizen.

-4 letters: mien, mime, mine, mini, zein.

-5 letters: mem, men, mim, nim, zin.

+1 letter: minimized, minimizer, minimizes.

+2 letters: minimizers.

+5 letters: memorializing.