attenuation

[uh-ten-yoo-ey-shuh n]

See more synonyms for attenuation on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of attenuating or the state of being attenuated.
the process by which a virus, bacterium, etc., changes under laboratory conditions to become harmless or less virulent.
Physics. a decrease in a property, as energy, per unit area of a wave or a beam of particles, occurring as the distance from the source increases as a result of absorption, scattering, spreading in three dimensions, etc.

Origin of attenuation

1585–95; (< Middle French) < Latin attenuātiōn- (stem of attenuātiō). See attenuate, -ion

Related formssub·at·ten·u·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for attenuation

enfeeblement, weakness, depletion, impoverishment, fading, exhaustion

Examples from the Web for attenuation

Historical Examples of attenuation

The rapidity of the action diminished with the attenuation of the vapour.
Fragments of science, V. 1-2
John Tyndall
In spite of the pallor and attenuation, the face had a rare charm.
A Little Girl of Long Ago
Amanda Millie Douglas
There is no growth in the idea of god, there is only an attenuation.
Theism or Atheism
Chapman Cohen
It is to be given at the first attenuation three times daily in half gr.
An Epitome of Homeopathic Healing Art
B. L. Hill
She quite lacks the refinement, attenuation and imponderability you have achieved.
The Gay Gnani of Gingalee
Florence Huntley

British Dictionary definitions for attenuation

attenuation

noun

the act of attenuating or the state of being attenuated
the loss of energy suffered by radiation as it passes through matter, esp as a result of absorption or scattering

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for attenuation

early 15c., of persons, "emaciation;" of diet, "reduction," from Latin attenuationem (nominative attenuatio) "a lessening," noun of action from past participle stem of attenuare (see attenuate).

attenuation in Medicine

attenuation

[ə-tĕn′yōō-ā′shən]

A dilution, thinning, or weakening of a substance, especially a reduction in the virulence of a pathogen through repeated inoculation, growth in a different culture medium, or exposure to heat, light, air, or other weakening agents.
The energy loss of an ultrasonic beam as it passes through a material.