diminish/decline/go down/dwindle

Question

Hello,Can all these verbs be used in this sentence: "The number of people buying their own homes has declined/dwindled/gone down/diminished."? I think that diminish and dwindle are similar and they suggest that it happened gradually. To me, however, decline and go down suggest that less people wanted/could buy their own homes.I have one last question. Can we use some of the verbs in: "His popularity has diminished/declined/went down/dwindled over the past years."? I think that dwindle can't be used. Can the others be used?Thank you

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

"Declined" would be the word of choice in the first sentence. ("Dwindled" implies that the number has fallen almost to zero. "Diminished" tends to imply "faded" rather than "gone down"). "Decreased" is another option.

All options are OK for the second example, except that you would say "has gone down", rather than "has went down". I suspect that was just a slip of the finger when typing. "Dwindle" can certainly be used and, as before, means "has decreased significantly". You may hear the phrase "the fire dwindled down", which means it was on the verge of going out.

Gene93 · Answer

Thank you and I am very sorry for making such a careless mistake. It was slip, but I can't be justified. I apologize. Still, doesn't diminish suggest that less people are willing to buy houses? Also, can we say that the number of these people has gone down over the years? I just want to know if I can use it. It sounds fine to me and the dictionaries I use confirm it, but native speakers might use it differently. As for the sentence about the fire, it could also die down, couldn't it?

Thank you for correcting me and I am really sorry. It's so embarrassing

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Anonymous · Answer

Don't be too embarrassed - we all make typing errors!

All of the words you use are possible, but some are better than others.

"Diminish" tends to refer to something that cannot be counted. (We talk about "diminished responsibility" for example). The number of people buying houses _is_ a number that can be counted and you would normally choose a word that reflects that. However, if you use the phrase: "the number of people buying houses has diminished", I doubt that many people would a) fail to understand you, or b) correct you. "Gone down" is also fine.

Yes, a fire can also "die down"; in fact, that is the usual choice of phrase.

Note that you would also talk about "fewer people willing to buy houses", not "less people". Again, "fewer" is used when referring to a number that you can count, while "less" refers to measurements (distance, weight, etc.).

Hope that helps.

Gene93 · Answer

Thank you for your other correction. You are absolutely right. I don't know what's wrong with me today <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/6.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/6.gif' alt='Emotion: sad'/>. When we talk about numbers, not necessarily the number of people who want to do something, are "decrease" and "decline" the verbs that fit that context best? I take it diminish is more abstract then. Thank you, the dictionary didn't say anything about that. "Go down" is also more informal, isn't it? I mean that decrease and decline are more formal.

Anonymous · Answer

You've summed it up perfectly. Don't let those corrections diminish your enthusiasm :-)

Gene93 · Answer

It is not the corrections I am worried about. There's always somebody to whom everything sounds unnatural or unidiomatic. It's not just me. It happens to most learners

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Thank you for your help

diminish/decline/go down/dwindle

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