decrease

verb

(stress on the second syllable)

1 pollution levels had been gradually decreasing:

lessen, grow/become less, grow/become smaller, reduce, drop, diminish, decline, dwindle, contract, shrink, fall off, die down;

abate, subside, let up, tail off, ebb, wane, taper off, peter out, lighten;

sink, slump, plummet, plunge, fall off a cliff.

▷antonyms increase.

2 you could exercise to decrease the amount of fat in your body:

reduce, lessen, make less/fewer, lower, cut down/back (on), cut, curtail, contract, diminish, narrow, pare down, slim down, tone down, temper, weaken, deplete, minimize;

informal slash.

noun

(stress on the first syllable)

a decrease in crime:

reduction, drop, lessening, lowering, decline, falling off;

letting up, slackening, downturn, cut, cutback, curtailment, diminution, contraction, shrinkage, ebb, wane, de-escalation;

dying down, abatement;

North American downtick.

▷antonyms increase.