上述单词均有减轻和减少的含义。其中，reduce最为通用, 可指在体积、数量、金额、程度及范围等方面的减少，如to reduce expenses (labor force, acreage of property, means, etc.)以及 to reduce to letting rooms, private 等[1]。abate 在法律英语中常用作及物动词，多指在强度或程度上减轻或全部及部分废除， 常用于减价及税收、遗产或骚扰的减少等[2]。curtail —般用作指突然减少或彻底除去原来并不计划或打算的事务，多指抽象而非具体的东西[3]。diminish常指部分删减，如责任、人口、数量等，所删减部分有时并非无价值[4]。lower多指价值、等级及水平的减少和降低，其强调程度和所指的精确程度不及reduce [5] 。
 
[1 ] "Reduce has a wider range of connotations than the other word and is also the most general. It means to make less in size, amount, number, extent or intensity. ” Cf. The Editors of the Reader's Digest, Use the Right Word, at p. 484，The Reader's Digest Association Proprietary Ltd. (1971).
[2] "To break down, destroy or remove； to lower the price. ” Cf. Daphne Dukelow, The Dictionary of Canadian Law, at p. 1 , Thomson Professional Publishing Canada (1991). "Abate means to reduce, as in strength or degree，usually from an excessive intensity or amount." Cf. The Editors of the Reader's Digest, Use the Right Word, at p. 485, The Reader's Digest Association Proprietary Ltd. (1971 ).
[3] " Curtail is to reduce abruptly and radically, as by cutting off or cutting short than was originally intended. The word is used chiefly of non-material things and conveys the idea of the unexpected. " Cf. The Editors of the Reader's Digest，Use the Right Word, at p. 485, The Reader's Digest Association Proprietary Ltd. (1971).
[4] "Diminish is a more accurate word than reduce when one wishes to stress the idea of removing part of something so that there is a manifest and sometimes progressive lessening， but not to the point of total disappearance. The word may suggest either the loss of something valuable or a lessening of that which is undesirable. ” Id. at p. 485.
[5] “Lower is to make less, especially in value, degree or level. It is not as emphatic or precise a word as reduce in this sense, although fairly close in meaning. ” Id. at p. 485.