as in erosion
a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction
took the machinery out of operation since attrition had led to the main mechanism's breaking
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Recent Examples of attrition
The company underlined that shipyards report attrition rates of 20–22% among average workers, with critical trades experiencing rates as high as 30% or more.
—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2025
But strategic neutralization is attainable without waging a multidecade war of attrition.
—Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2025
In one early sign of course correcting, Kupor says that many of the federal agencies that OPM’s 250-person consulting team works with are taking a fresh look at their staffing plans to account for greater-than-expected attrition from deferred resignations.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025
But there's a difference between natural attrition and the guillotine.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for attrition
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 24 Sep. 2025
But strategic neutralization is attainable without waging a multidecade war of attrition.
—Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 23 Sep. 2025
In one early sign of course correcting, Kupor says that many of the federal agencies that OPM’s 250-person consulting team works with are taking a fresh look at their staffing plans to account for greater-than-expected attrition from deferred resignations.
—Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2025
But there's a difference between natural attrition and the guillotine.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for attrition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attrition
erosion
Noun
-
Farley described a revelation about the erosion of what blue-collar work used to represent—stability, pride, and a single income that could support a family.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
30 Sep. 2025
-
The driftwood trees help to blunt the effects of hurricanes—and, thus, slow down erosion—on the remaining woods and uplands.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attrition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attrition. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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