The difference between decrease and reduce

The difference between decrease and reduce.

In some cases, “decrease” and “reduce” are synonyms. We use both words when we are talking about something getting smaller in some way.

So, we can say:

• The driver should reduce his speed OR
• The driver should decrease his speed

Both are grammatically correct, but for many people “the driver should reduce his speed” sounds better. That’s probably because we often prefer to use reduce as a transitive verb (when the verb has an object) and decrease as an intransitive verb (when the verb has no object).

 Here are some examples:

• I am trying to reduce my weight. (The object of the sentence is “my weight”)
• My weight is decreasing. (There is no object)
• We asked them to reduce the volume. (The object is “the volume”)
• The noise is decreasing. (There is no object)
• The government is reducing taxes. (The object is “taxes”)
• The chances of a white Christmas are decreasing. (There is no object)
• She reduced the amount of salt in her cooking. (The object is “the amount of salt”)

This is just general guidance. We can also use decrease as a transitive verb and reduce as intransitive. For most purposes the guidance is likely to be useful, even though you will sometimes find someone who thinks that a particular usage “sounds wrong”

Some other points about decrease and reduce:

• We can also use decrease as a noun
  • There was a decrease in the number of rainy days this summer.
• The noun associated with reduce is “reduction”
  • There was a reduction in the number of rainy days this summer.
• The adjective form of reduce is “reduced”
  • On Sunday there will be a reduced service on this bus route.
• The adjective form of decrease is “decreased”, but reduced often sounds better
  • Because of streaming, there is a decreased demand for CDs.
  • Because of streaming, there is a reduced demand for CDs.

It is also worth knowing that there are other – related – meanings of “reduce”. For example:

• We use “reduce” in cookery
  • Reduce the liquid to a thick sauce by boiling
• We also use it when we’re talking about bringing someone to a particular state or condition
  • The film reduced her to tears
  • His bossy neighbour reduced him to a real wreck
• We also sometimes use it to talk about a demotion:
  • After getting into trouble, the soldier was reduced from major to captain

Posted by Graham

Thank you to Dasha for the suggestion