Meaning & use
minimize or minimalize
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To reduce something to the smallest possible amount or degree.
Grammar: Takes an object: minimize risk. Often used in business, health, and academic writing.
Patterns
- minimize something
- minimize the risk of something
- minimize the impact of something
We need to minimize the risk of infection.
The company is trying to minimize costs.
Good planning can minimize delays.
verbtransitive
To make something seem less important or serious than it really is.
Grammar: Takes an object: minimize the problem. Often used when someone downplays an issue.
Patterns
- minimize something
- minimize the importance of something
She minimized the difficulties and said everything was fine.
He tried to minimize his role in the mistake.
Don't minimize the damage you caused.
Word forms
| third person singular | minimizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | minimized |
| past participle | minimized |
| -ing form | minimizing |
Common combinations
- minimize risk
- Wearing a helmet minimizes the risk of head injury.
- minimize costs
- The factory is trying to minimize costs.
- minimize the impact
- New rules aim to minimize the impact on the environment.
- minimize damage
- Quick action minimized the damage from the flood.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reduce
- Reduce is the general word for making something smaller; minimize means making it as small as possible, often the absolute minimum.
- lessen
- Lessen means to make something less in amount or degree, but it does not suggest reaching the smallest possible level like minimize does.
- downplay
- Downplay means to make something seem less important, which matches the second sense of minimize, but downplay is more about appearance than actual reduction.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: minimize or minimalize or minimalize?
minimize or minimalize vs minimalize
Minimalize is a very rare word that some people use to mean 'make minimal', but it is not standard. In all normal contexts, use minimize.
Practice
To stay safe, you should ______ the risk of accidents.
Choose one answer.
Minimize is the standard verb meaning to reduce to the smallest possible amount. Minimalize is rare and not accepted in standard English; minimum and minimal are not verbs and cannot follow 'should' in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “minimize or minimalize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.