attenuate

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verb at·ten·u·ate \ ə-ˈten-yə-ˌwāt , -yü-ˌāt \

Definition of attenuate

attenuated; attenuating

transitive verb

1 :to lessen the amount, force, magnitude, or value of :weaken

… shows great skill in the use of language to moderate or attenuate the impact of awkward facts.
—Bernard Lewis

2 :to reduce the severity, virulence, or vitality of

an attenuated virus

3 :to make thin or slender

Glass can be attenuated into fibers.

4 :to make thin in consistency :rarefy

attenuate oil by heating it

intransitive verb

:to become thin, fine, or less

—

attenuation

\-ˌten-yə-ˈwā-shən, -yü-ˈā-\ noun

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attenuate was our Word of the Day on 06/29/2016. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of attenuate from the Web

The rock sheath attenuates the electromagnetic waves, as do the metal buildings:

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "A Rare Journey Into the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, a Super-Bunker That Can Survive Anything," 3 May 2017
Generally, violence in Mr. Wiseman’s work remains implied and attenuated, and more a matter of ordinary domination.

— a.o. scott and manohla dargis, New York Times, "Frederick Wiseman: The Filmmaker Who Shows Us Ourselves," 6 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'attenuate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of attenuate

see ²attenuate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1530

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attenuate Synonyms

Synonyms

depreciate, break, cheapen, depress, devaluate, devalue, downgrade, lower, mark down, reduce, sink, write down, write off

Antonyms

appreciate, enhance, mark up, upgrade

Related Words

debase, demonetize; underestimate, underprice, underrate, undervalue; abridge, compress, contract, de-escalate, deflate, downsize, dwindle, lessen, moderate, shrink

Near Antonyms

bloat, blow up, inflate; overestimate, overprice, overrate, overvalue; add, aggrandize, amplify, augment, balloon, boost, compound, dilate, enlarge, escalate, expand, extend, heighten, increase, maximize, multiply, raise, swell, up

attenuate

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adjective at·ten·u·ate \ ə-ˈten-yə-wət , -yü-ət \

Definition of attenuate

1 :reduced especially in thickness, density, or force

the attenuate limbs of a starving person

2 :tapering gradually usually to a long slender point

attenuate leaves

Examples of attenuate in a Sentence

Earplugs will attenuate the loud sounds of the machinery.
an investment attenuated by significant inflation over the years

Did You Know?

Attenuate ultimately comes from a combination of the Latin prefix ad-, meaning "to" or "toward," and tenuis, meaning "thin." It has been on the medical scene since the 16th century, when a health treatise recommended eating dried figs to attenuate bodily fluids. That treatment might be outmoded nowadays, but attenuate is still used in medicine to refer to procedures that weaken a pathogen or reduce the severity of a disease. Most often, though, attenuate implies that something has been reduced or weakened by physical or chemical means. You can attenuate wire by drawing it through successively smaller holes, or attenuate gold by hammering it into thin sheets. You can even attenuate the momentum of a play by including too many costume changes.