I. əˈtenyəˌwāt also aˈ-; usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin attenuatus, past participle of attenuare to make thin, from ad- + tenuare to make thin, from tenuis thin — more at thin
transitive verb
1. : to make thin or slender (as by mechanical or chemical action)
glass … may be attenuated into the finest of fibers — M.F.Brooke
2. : to lessen the amount, force, or value of : make less complex : weaken
he refuses to attenuate human life — Hardin Craig
a cloudburst will attenuate UFH signals — RCA Review
3. : to reduce the severity of (a disease) or the virulence or vitality of (a pathogenic agent)
4. archaic : to break into finer parts (as the humors of the body)
5. : to make thin in consistency : render less viscid or dense : rarefy
attenuate oil by heating it
intransitive verb
: to become thin, fine, or less : lessen
the vividness of a memory attenuates with time
Synonyms: see thin
II. -yəwə̇t, -ˌwāt, usu -d.+V adjective
Etymology: Latin attenuatus
1. : attenuated especially in thickness, density, or force : slender , thin
the attenuate limbs of a starving person
2. botany : tapering gradually often into a long slender point
narrow attenuate leaves
3. : thin in consistency : rarefied , fine , refined
an attenuate kind of beauty