attenuation

American  

[uh-ten-yoo-ey-shuhn] / əˌtɛn yuˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of attenuating or the state of being attenuated.

2. the process by which a virus, bacterium, etc., changes under laboratory conditions to become harmless or less virulent.

3. 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.

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attenuation British  

/ əˌtɛnjʊˈeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of attenuating or the state of being attenuated

2. the loss of energy suffered by radiation as it passes through matter, esp as a result of absorption or scattering

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Other Word Forms

• subattenuation
  noun

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.

Example Sentences

Attenuation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa virulence by quorum sensing inhibitors.

From Nature • Nov. 14, 2017

"Attenuation" of Northern progress in arms was, indeed, attempted, but the facts of the military situation were too strong for continued concealment.

From Great Britain and the American Civil War by Adams, Ephraim Douglass

Attenuation should proceed until the heat rises four degrees above the pitching heat, which should be the same as in the preceding process.

From The American Practical Brewer and Tanner by Coppinger, Joseph

Attenuation of the virus can also be secured by 5.

From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by Eyre, J. W. H. (John William Henry)

Attenuation to the thousandth or even the five-thousandth part, was used, and when drugs are so attenuated, there is not much left to them.

From Seed Thoughts for Singers by Tubbs, Frank Herbert