attenuate

Meaning

Verb

1. (transitive) To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree.
2. (transitive) To make thinner, as by physically reshaping, starving, or decaying.
3. (intransitive) To become thin or fine; to grow less.
4. (transitive) To weaken.
5. (transitive) To rarefy.
6. (transitive) To reduce the virulence of a bacterium or virus.
7. (transitive) To reduce the amplitude of an electrical, radio, or optical signal.
8. (of a beer) To become less dense as a result of the conversion of sugar to alcohol.

Adj

1. Slender, thin.
2. Rarefied, thin, refined.
3. Gradually tapering into a petiole-like extension toward the base.

Synonyms

weaken

thin

dilute

mitigate

rarefy

deaden

assuage

make thin

soften

alleviate

appease

attenuated

curtail

cut

debilitate

decline

diminish

enervate

fade

faded

impair

languish

lessen

lower

palliate

reduce

wasted

water down

weakened

wear out

get worse

allay

taper off

break

let up

devitalise

make smaller

minimize

cut back

moderate

pacify

devitalize,

patch up

prune

put down

cool off

wiredraw

retrench

scale down

shorten

Translations

atenuar

atténuer

verzwakken

verdunnen

atenuar

attenuare

εξασθενίζω

abschwächen

azaltmak

λεπτύνω

αμβλύνω

annacquare

debilitar

hafifletmek

Pronounced as (IPA)

/əˈtɛn.juˌeɪt/

Etymology

The verb if first attested in 1530, the adjective in 1626; borrowed from Latin attenuātus, the perfect passive participle of attenuō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + tenuo (“to make thin”), itself from tenuis (“thin”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).