The question is whether doctors should prolong life when there is no hope of recovery. lengthen = make something longer; become longer: ‘We can use the old curtains, but they’ll have to be lengthened.’ ‘As evening fell, the shadows lengthened.’ prolong = prevent a feeling, activity or life from ending: ‘He asked her another question just to prolong the conversation.’ less 1
Teachers today are less stricter than they used to be.
Teachers today are less strict than they used to be. The comparative ending ( -er ) is NEVER used with less or more . 2
If there were less cars on the roads, there would be less accidents.
If there were fewer cars on the roads, there would be fewer accidents. Use less with an uncountable noun and fewer with the plural form of a countable noun: ‘Less traffic would mean fewer accidents.’ Note that less is widely used in place of fewer in everyday conversation, but careful users regard this usage as non-standard. lessen Fortunately, my workload has been lessened.
Fortunately, my workload has been reduced. The best solution is to lessen the amount of traffic entering the town.
The best solution is to reduce the amount of traffic entering the town. Lessen is mainly used in connection with pain and feelings: ‘I’ll give you an injection to lessen the pain.’ ‘No amount of comforting could lessen Charles’ disappointment.’ When you mean ‘make something smaller in amount, number, price or size’, use
