law of diminishing returns
noun
Simple meaning
A relationship between input and output.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lawuhvdihminihshihngrihturnzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlɔˈʌvdɪˈmɪnɪʃɪŋɹɪˈtɝnz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
economics
A relationship between input and output, such that adding units of any one input (labour, capital etc.) to fixed amounts of the others will yield successively smaller increments of output.
The tendency for a continuing effort toward a particular goal to decline in effectiveness after a certain amount of success has been achieved.
A law affirming that to continue after a certain level of performance has been reached will result in a decline in effectiveness
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A relationship between input and output, such that adding units of any one input (labour, capital etc.) to fixed amounts of the others will yield successively smaller increments of output.
Used this way, law of diminishing returns is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It turns up most in finance or economics and relationships contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Successful and accomplished
- Usage feel
- Precise and approving
Where it naturally appears
- Finance/economics
- Relationships
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.