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-- Law of Charles (Physics), the law that the volume of a given mass of gas increases or decreases, by a definite fraction of its value for a given rise or fall of temperature; -- sometimes less correctly styled Gay Lussac's law, or Dalton's law. -- Law of nations. See International law, under International. -- Law…

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. The objection lessens much, and comes to no more than this: there was one witness of no good reputation. Atterbury.

To fall; to sink; to grow less; to diminish; to decrease; as, the river lowered as rapidly as it rose.

e; or, the greatest value attained by a quantity which first increases and then begins to decrease; the highest point or degree; -- opposed to Ant: minimum. Good legislation is the art of conducting a nation to the maximum of happiness, and the minimum of misery. P. Colquhoun. Maximum thermometer, a thermometer that re…

octrine that permanent betterment of the general standard of living is impossible without decrease of competition by limitation of the number of births. -- Ne`o- Mal*thu"sian, Ne`o-Mal*thu"sian*ism, n.

Regular or proportional advance in increase or decrease of numbers; continued proportion, arithmetical, geometrical, or harmonic.

much, and not more or less; the property of being measurable, or capable of increase and decrease, multiplication and division; greatness; and more concretely, that which answers the question "How much"; measure in regard to bulk or amount; determinate or comparative dimensions; measure; amount; bulk; extent; size. He…

Slackening; -- a direction to perform a passage with a gradual decrease in time and force; ritardando.

To fail; to decrease. [Obs.]

Decrease in value; depreciation. [Colloq.]

round, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease. I think our country sinks beneath the yoke. Shak. He sunk down in his chariot. 2 Kings ix. 24. Let not the fire sink or slacken. Mortimer.

To become slack; to be made less tense, firm, or rigid; to decrease in tension; as, a wet cord slackens in dry weather.

mple infinitive with to, having a modifier between the verb and the to; as in, to largely decrease. Called also cleft infinitive.

ide. Steel, unlike wrought iron, can be tempered, and retains magnetism. Its malleability decreases, and fusibility increases, with an increase in carbon.

A gradual increase and decrease of the volume of sound; the crescendo and diminuendo combined; -- generally indicated by the sign.

mined value, used to protect certain types of motors from running at excessive speed upon decrease of load.

A quantity which may increase or decrease; a quantity which admits of an infinite number of values in the same expression; a variable quantity; as, in the equation x2 - y2 = R2, x and y are variables.

To be diminished; to decrease; -- contrasted with wax, and especially applied to the illuminated part of the moon. Like the moon, aye wax ye and wane. Waning moons their settled periods keep. Addison.

ss consumption or expenditure; devastation; loss without equivalent gain; gradual loss or decrease, by use, wear, or decay; as, a waste of property, time, labor, words, etc. "Waste . . . of catel and of time." Chaucer. For all this waste of wealth loss of blood. Milton. He will never . . . in the way of waste, attempt…