0 If something lessens or is lessened, it becomes less strong:
2 to make something smaller, less noticeable, etc., or to become smaller, less noticeable, etc.:
Corporate executives are keen to embrace "green technology" in order to lessen their dependence on fossil fuels.
Increasing security procedures is the only way to lessen the risks of air travel.
lessen the impact/importance/influence (of sth) Experts argue that a carbon tax would lessen the influence of special-interest groups in the climate change debate.
We should all do our best to lessen poverty and suffering and make the world a more equal place.
Then, a new structure was conceived in order to lessen the disadvantages of the earlier structure.
These arguments do not lessen the responsibility of donors and lenders.
If you could make perfect copies of me, the existence of the replicas would destroy my uniqueness without lessening my worth or value.
Monetary instability was lessening towards the restoration of convertibility.
However, some children may exhibit a stronger motivational system that helps them lessen their negative reactivity to novelty.
This in turn could have made possible some containment of the discontent and given some hope to the people which might have lessened their anger.
Increased infrastructural supply lessens the environmental costs of consumption, and, the other way round, increased consumption increases the marginal benefit of pollution-reducing infrastructure.