attenuate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb weaken the consistency of (a chemical substance)
    rarefy.
  2. verb become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude
  3. adjective satellite reduced in strength
    faded; weakened; attenuated.
    • the faded tones of an old recording

WordNet

At*ten"u*ate transitive verb
Etymology
L. attenuatus, p. p. of attenuare; ad + tenuare to make thin, tenuis thin. See Thin.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Attenuated present participle & verbal noun Attenuating
Definitions
  1. To make thin or slender, as by mechanical or chemical action upon inanimate objects, or by the effects of starvation, disease, etc., upon living bodies.
  2. To make thin or less consistent; to render less viscid or dense; to rarefy. Specifically: To subtilize, as the humors of the body, or to break them into finer parts.
  3. To lessen the amount, force, or value of; to make less complex; to weaken.
    To undersell our rivals . . . has led the manufacturer to . . . attenuate his processes, in the allotment of tasks, to an extreme point. I. Taylor.
    We may reject and reject till we attenuate history into sapless meagerness. Sir F. Palgrave.
At*ten"u*ate intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become thin, slender, or fine; to grow less; to lessen.
    The attention attenuates as its sphere contracts. Coleridge.
At*ten"u*ate, At*ten"u*a`ted adjective (Also<
  • Attenuate
  • Attenuated
)
Etymology
L. attenuatus, p. p.
Definitions
  1. Made thin or slender.
  2. Made thin or less viscid; rarefied. Bacon.

Webster 1913