(a.) To make less; to reduce; to make smaller, or fewer; to diminish; to lower; to degrade; as, to lessen a kingdom, or a population; to lessen speed, rank, fortune.
(v. i.) To become less; to shrink; to contract; to decrease; to be diminished; as, the apparent magnitude of objects lessens as we recede from them; his care, or his wealth, lessened.
Example Sentences:
(1) The transmission of alcoholism and its effects are thereby lessened for future generations of children of alcoholics.
(2) Bacteria can stop or lessen antibodies synthesis process.
(3) Behavioral variables, including interreinforcement interval and drug self-administration history, appear to be important determinants of whether or not reinforcement will be demonstrated, particularly among the benzodiazepines; but the range of conditions under which behavioral and pharmacological variables interact to promote or lessen the likelihood of self-administration of these drugs remains to be determined experimentally.
(4) "It is in my power to lessen their sentence – it's not excluded that that will happen."
(5) Diminished pressor responsiveness was considered to be due to concurrent reduction of central sympathetic vasomotor activity, because sympathetic nerve responses to hypothalamic stimulation were appreciably lessened in tripamide-treated SHR.
(6) The introduction of biological valves or of valves with a lessened risk of embolism is highly desirable in such cases.
(7) In this paper, these and related facts were summarized and some precautions were suggested to lessen the increase of resistant strains in this country.
(8) Recent improvements in surgical techniques and selective embolization have lessened the risks of surgical excision, decreased the blood loss, and diminished the time required for resection.
(9) We have previously shown that in the cat, taurine is an osmoprotective molecule that lessens mortality, neurological morbidity, and brain-cell dehydration during chronic hypernatremic dehydration.
(10) Rats given Sendai virus concurrently with the FCA, or any time after FCA was injected, did not have a lessened severity of the arthritic reaction, as compared with that in control animals.
(11) A decrease in relative risks since diagnosis of the first primary cancer was seen that may partly be attributed to a lessening of the intensity of medical surveillance with time.
(12) Incorporation of porosity into the grafts, which is necessary for tissue ingrowth, is expected to lessen this difference.
(13) The data strongly suggest that conferring the sick role on the mentally ill does not lessen rejection, but may, in some instances, increase social rejection.
(14) In contrast, hydroxyurea treatment was associated with a 1.5-fold to sevenfold increase in F cells and a 2.3- to 27-fold increase in the percentage of Hb F. In the three patients whose response reached a plateau, hydroxyurea treatment was associated with lessened hemolysis, decreased serum bilirubin and lactate dehydrogenase levels, and prolonged 51chromium-labeled RBC survival.
(15) O’Malley also called for: The relationship between federal immigration law enforcement and local law enforcement to be significantly lessened.
(16) Utilization of outpatient surgical centers helps reduce the cost of health care, lessens the disruption of patients' personal lives, and promotes their recovery through early ambulation and a lower incidence of postoperative nosocomial complications.
(17) It also lessened the hypertonus of isolated guinea-pig trachea caused by pilocarpine.
(18) The use of tissue allografts lessens patient morbidity and suffering and in many cases spares limbs and lives.
(19) Unlike acute combinations, chronic imipramine lessened the rate reducing effect of methadone.
(20) The results of a bronchial challenge to Aspergillus species, however, remained positive; these positive results suggest that long-term memory immune mechanisms may play an important role in the pathogenesis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis and lessen the importance of precipitins in establishing a diagnosis.
Lesser
Definition:
(a.) Less; smaller; inferior.
(adv.) Less.
Example Sentences:
(1) The high transition enthalpy for kerasin is ascribed to a lesser accommodation of gauche conformers in the hydrocarbon chains just below the transition temperature.
(2) Accidentally discovered nearly 40 years ago as the first true antidepressants, the MAOIs soon fell into disfavor due to concerns about toxicity and seemingly lesser efficacy compared with the newer tricyclic compounds.
(3) Comparison of the 50% binding concentrations of the compounds for the various PBPs of the five strains with their antibacterial activity indicates that the different antibiotics are excluded to a greater or lesser degree by the outer membrane permeability barrier and that the exclusion is most pronounced in P. aeruginosa.
(4) The analysis of blood lead concentration revealed an evident biological response to this environmental change: there was a decrease in blood lead level between 1977 and 1987, in both the countryside (control group) and, to a lesser extent, in the city.
(5) While the heaviest anterogradely labeled ascending projections were observed to the contralateral ventral posterolateral nucleus of the thalamus, pars oralis (VPLo), efferent projections were also observed to the contralateral ventrolateral thalamic nucleus (VLc) and central lateral (CL) nucleus of the thalamic intralaminar complex, magnocellular (and to a lesser extent parvicellular) red nucleus, nucleus of Darkschewitsch, zona incerta, nucleus of the posterior commissure, lateral intermediate layer and deep layer of the superior colliculus, dorsolateral periaqueductal gray, contralateral nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis and basilar pontine nuclei (especially dorsal and peduncular), and dorsal (DAO) and medial (MAO) accessory olivary nuclei, ipsilateral lateral (external) cuneate nucleus (LCN) and lateral reticular nucleus (LRN), and to a lesser extent the caudal medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) and caudal nucleus prepositus hypoglossi (NPH), and dorsal medullary raphe.
(6) Higher anxiety, depression and psychiatric morbidity scores were reported by all patients at 6 and, to a lesser extent, at 12 weeks with greater differences in women.
(7) Beta 1 activity increased during the first 10 min of KB in occipital and to a lesser degree in parietal regions.
(8) Testis MAPs promoted microtubule assembly, but to a lesser degree than brain MAPs.
(9) Following injections of HRP into the apex of the heart, the sinoatrial (SA) nodal region and the ventral wall of the right ventricle, we observed that HRP-labeled sympathetic neurons were localized predominantly in the right stellate ganglia, and to a lesser extent, in the right superior and middle cervical ganglia, and left stellate ganglia.
(10) The ampullar epithelium showed similar changes, but to a lesser extent.
(11) Mucosal drying medications and senile salivary gland atrophy seemed to contribute to the high frequency of sicca in this population with a lesser proportion of the subjects demonstrating previously undiagnosed Sjögren's and possible Sjögren's syndrome.
(12) The antibody reacted with adult as well as with cord red cells, and its reactivity was strongly diminished by treatment of the cells with neuraminidase and to a lesser degree by treatment with protease.
(13) A lesser inhibitory effect (a decrease in the rate of precipitation) was observed when gallbladder bile was diluted but was lost after 10-fold dilution.
(14) The pump function of the heart (oxygen debt dynamics), the anaerobic threshold (complex of gas analytical indices), and the efficacy of blood flow in lesser circulation (O2 consumption plateau) were appraised.
(15) From the 32nd week on, the twins' mean weekly BPD increment decreased, this lesser growth rate being more marked than that of singletons.
(16) DR(+) cells, however, showed no change in percentage and a lesser drop in absolute numbers, suggesting an increase with advancing disease of DR(+), Ig(-) null cells, which may represent immature B cell precursors.
(17) Inositol prevented the glucocorticoid-induced decrease in lung protein and, to a lesser extent, the decrease in DNA.
(18) He got away with a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and served five years.
(19) The depletion is more effective in axonal and synaptic regions (85-90%) than in the somata (55%), is reasonably specific for serotonin (dopamine is affected to a much lesser extent), and is transient, with normal levels of neurotransmitter being restored by 2 months.
(20) Since ED50 values are a measure of cellular sensitivity (the greater the ED50 value the lesser the cellular sensitivity), the order of sensitivity to ACTH was ADW greater than K greater than SLD and the order of sensitivity to pregnenolone was ADW greater than K = SLD.