attenuate

American  

[uh-ten-yoo-eyt, uh-ten-yoo-it, -eyt] / əˈtɛn yuˌeɪt, əˈtɛn yu ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

attenuated, attenuating

1. to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, quantity, or value.

   to attenuate desire.

2. to make thin; make slender or fine.

3. Bacteriology, Immunology. to render less virulent, as a strain of pathogenic virus or bacterium.

4. Electronics. to decrease the amplitude of (an electronic signal).

   A splitter will attenuate your output.

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verb (used without object)

attenuated, attenuating

1. to become thin, fine, or weak; lessen.

   Over the years, my anger at my family attenuated and I was able to acknowledge the strengths they had given me.

adjective

1. weakened; diminishing.

2. Botany. tapering gradually to a narrow extremity.

attenuate British  

verb

1. to weaken or become weak; reduce in size, strength, density, or value

2. to make or become thin or fine; extend

3. (tr) to make (a pathogenic bacterium, virus, etc) less virulent, as by culture in special media or exposure to heat

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adjective

1. diluted, weakened, slender, or reduced

2. botany tapering gradually to a point

Other Word Forms

• overattenuate
  verb (used with object)
• subattenuate
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of attenuate

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin attenuātus (past participle of attenuāre “to make thin, reduce”); see at-, tenuis, -ate ¹

Explanation

Attenuate is a verb that means to make or become weaker. The effects of aging may be attenuated by exercise — or by drinking from the fountain of youth. The versatile word attenuate denotes a weakening in amount, intensity, or value. As a verb, attenuate is usually transitive, meaning it needs an object to be complete, such as in the sentence: "This tanning process tends to attenuate the deer hide, making it softer." The word can be intransitive in past tense, as in "The rain attenuated, ending the storm." And it can even be used as an adjective to describe something weakened: "Even an attenuated solution will remove the stain."

Example Sentences

The rigid roof panel helps attenuate the little engine’s effortful ringadingding, which loses its charm after hour four or so.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

He recognized that if the United States were to have any meaningful relationship with Latin America, we needed to attenuate our colonialism, so he pushed through the ratification of the Panama Canal treaties.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2024

The researchers were able to show that zooplankton species that are tolerant to oxygen deficiency consume sinking particles and thus attenuate the export fluxes of carbon to the deep sea.

From Science Daily • Dec. 8, 2023

"What else can we be doing to attenuate that risk? Well, to me, it's clear from this research that formulas that have corn syrup solids confer additional risk."

From Salon • Sep. 30, 2022

The increasing intensity of his work tends to accentuate and not to attenuate the dissimilarities between the different grades of society, which act as an obstacle to the general reunion.

From Underground Man by Tarde, Gabriel

Related Words

• decrease
• diminish
• lessen
• vitiate
• weaken