Definition of "minimize" []

• To reduce to the smallest possible amount, extent, size, or degree. (verb-transitive)
• Usage Problem To reduce. See Usage Note at minimal. (verb-transitive)
• To represent as having the least degree of importance, value, or size: minimized the magnitude of the crisis. See Synonyms at decry. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• ""reasons to be pretty" (yes, the title is annoyingly lower case) deals with Greg's four-year involvement with Steph, and what happens after a friend of hers overhears Greg disparage - or is it "minimize" - Steph's looks during some dude talk with his buddy Kent."
• "In his comments on the call, Mr. Eisman said he didn't intend to "minimize" the current management's efforts to help the company survive the financial crisis."
• "Or is he perhaps concerned that these marriages will somehow "minimize" the traditional importance of men and women marrying, and raising a family?"