attenuation
Americannoun
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the act of attenuating or the state of being attenuated.
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the process by which a virus, bacterium, etc., changes under laboratory conditions to become harmless or less virulent.
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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.
noun
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the act of attenuating or the state of being attenuated
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the loss of energy suffered by radiation as it passes through matter, esp as a result of absorption or scattering
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of attenuation
1585–95; (< Middle French ) < Latin attenuātiōn- (stem of attenuātiō ). See attenuate, -ion
Explanation
Attenuation means a weakening or reduction. If you have a really intense crush on someone, but closer contact reveals that she smells funny in a bad way, you'll probably experience an attenuation of your romantic sensation. The noun attenuation comes from the Latin verb meaning "make thin," but it's not just the bodies of hopeful models and ballerinas that undergo attenuation. Any instance of something becoming weaker or smaller could be an attenuation, like the attenuation of a radio signal as you drive out of town, the attenuation of your attention during a boring lecture, or the attenuation of your bank balance after a sudden, impulsive trip to Hawaii.
Vocabulary lists containing attenuation
This Week In Culture: November 16–22, 2019
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David Copperfield
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Killers of the Flower Moon
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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.
During the spring, he said Amazon hadn’t yet “seen any attenuation of demand,” and he touted Amazon’s vast network of merchants who he said could sell different items at a wide variety of prices.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 20, 2026
Even sisters who share a close bond have usually passed through periods of attenuation.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2024
After all, tidal flats are important foraging areas for birds and contribute to wave attenuation.
From Science Daily • May 6, 2024
I never understood if the effect was due to my mood or to a general attenuation of the chemical processes inside my skull.
From Slate • Oct. 28, 2023
The medical man said, that in all his practice he never had known soul and body keep together in such utter attenuation.
From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2) by Wilson, John Lyde
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.
