attenuate

American  

[uh-ten-yoo-eyt, uh-ten-yoo-it, -eyt] / əˈtɛn juˌeɪt, əˈtɛn ju ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

attenuates, present (3rd person singular) attenuated, past participle, past attenuating present participle

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)

attenuates, present (3rd person singular) attenuated, past participle, past attenuating present participle

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

Derived Forms

• subattenuate
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• attenuating
  present
• attenuated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• attenuate
  simple
• attenuates
  simple
• have attenuated
  perfect
• has attenuated
  perfect
• am attenuating
  progressive
• are attenuating
  progressive
• is attenuating
  progressive
• have been attenuating
  perfect progressive
• has been attenuating
  perfect progressive

Past

• attenuated
  simple
• had attenuated
  perfect
• was attenuating
  progressive
• were attenuating
  progressive
• had been attenuating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will attenuate
  simple
• will have attenuated
  perfect
• will be attenuating
  progressive
• will have been attenuating
  perfect progressive

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

"Why is thy writing thus," my lover said to me, "Attenuate and      small, uneath to read and ill?"

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Volume II by Payne, John

Attenuate, at-ten′ū-āt, v.t. to make thin or lean: to break down into finer parts: to reduce in density: reduce in strength or value, simplify.—v.i. to become thin or fine: to grow less.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Related Words

• decrease
• diminish
• lessen
• vitiate
• weaken