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”); 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

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

"Seismic waves attenuate rapidly for distances away from the source, and therefore have limited resolution when they reach the depths of interest."

From Science Daily • May 8, 2024

So it wouldn't be surprising if the relationship between natural harbors and democracy begins to attenuate toward the end of the 20th century.

From Salon • Jul. 22, 2023

We therefore believe that sleep and dreams serve to attenuate negative emotions and that this process is dysfunctional in people with depression.

From Scientific American • Jun. 5, 2023

Lobes of stigma and cells 3; sepals long and narrow, attenuate upward, mostly hirsute below, corolla purple, blue, and white.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa

Related Words

• decrease
• diminish
• lessen
• vitiate
• weaken