Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Attenuate

//əˈten.jʉˌæɪt// adj, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Slender, thin.
  2. 2
    Rarefied, thin, refined.
  3. 3
    Gradually tapering into a petiole-like extension toward the base.
Adjective
  1. 1
    reduced in strength wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree. transitive

    "A manor-house clock from the far depths of shadow struck the hour, one, in a small, attenuated tone."

  2. 2
    become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude wordnet
  3. 3
    To make thinner, as by physically reshaping, starving, or decaying. transitive

    "Clumps of attenuated turkeys were suspended here and there."

  4. 4
    weaken the consistency of (a chemical substance) wordnet
  5. 5
    To become thin or fine; to grow less. intransitive
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    To weaken. transitive

    "We may reject and reject till we attenuate history into sapless meagreness."

  2. 7
    To rarefy. transitive

    ""It speedily became apparent that the entire strangeness of our circumstances and surroundings—great loss of weight, attenuated but highly oxygenated air, consequent exaggeration of the results of muscular effort, rapid development of weird plants from obscure spores, lurid sky—was exciting my companion unduly.""

  3. 8
    To reduce the virulence of a bacterium or virus. transitive
  4. 9
    To reduce the amplitude of an electrical, radio, or optical signal. transitive
  5. 10
    (of a beer) To become less dense as a result of the conversion of sugar to alcohol.

    "A beer which does not attenuate to the expected level in fermentation will have more residual sugar and thus be sweeter and heavier-bodied."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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).

Etymology 2

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).

See also for "attenuate"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: attenuate