attenuated
Americanadjective
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weakened.
My father had a somewhat attenuated relationship with his own family, as his childhood was quite traumatic.
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thin; slender or fine.
Images of the conjoined twins’ brains reveal an attenuated line stretching between the two organs, called a thalamic bridge.
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Bacteriology, Immunology. (of a strain of disease-causing virus or bacterium) rendered less virulent.
The attenuated poliovirus in the Sabin vaccine replicates very efficiently in the gut, but less so in the nervous system.
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Electronics. (of an electronic signal) reduced in amplitude.
Accuracy decreases in the case of reflected or attenuated signals—for example, inside buildings.
verb
Other Word Forms
- subattenuated adjective
- unattenuated adjective
- unattenuatedly adverb
Etymology
Origin of attenuated
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And then Michael is such a craftsman that every part of everything is studied and controlled and carefully attenuated.
From Los Angeles Times
The measles virus is attenuated in the MMR vaccine, meaning that it has been altered to produce the appropriate immune response without triggering the disease itself.
From Los Angeles Times
Over a professional career attenuated by injuries, he earned a Most Valuable Player Award and championship titles with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Boston Celtics.
From New York Times
Ms. Freund, who wrote a recent paper on the subject, said the two countries’ trade relationship was “definitely being attenuated, but not as much as the official statistics suggest.”
From New York Times
With these ethical concerns attenuated, the scientists have shifted their focus to the positive dimensions of their invention — its potential, for example, as a tool to restore communication.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
