verb
ADVERB
▪ considerably , greatly , significantly
▪
Eating a good diet significantly ~s the risk of heart disease.
▪ somewhat
▪ gradually
▪
Time had gradually ~ed the pain of her grief.
VERB + LESSEN
▪ begin to
▪
The noise began to ~.
▪ try to
▪ tend to
▪
Too much background detail tends to ~ the impact of the central image.
▪ help (to)
▪
Regular exercise can help ~ the pain.
Lessen is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ anxiety , ↑ burden , ↑ chance , ↑ danger , ↑ discomfort , ↑ effect , ↑ impact , ↑ likelihood , ↑ load , ↑ pain , ↑ possibility , ↑ reliance , ↑ risk , ↑ stress