Attenuate - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: Attenuate

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

at·ten·u·ate

Audio Help [v. uh-ten-yoo-eyt; adj. uh-ten-yoo-it, -eyt] Pronunciation Key verb, -at·ed, -at·ing, adjective

–verb (used with object)

1.	to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, quantity, or value: to attenuate desire.

2.	to make thin; make slender or fine.

3.	Bacteriology, Immunology. to render less virulent, as a strain of pathogenic virus or bacterium.

4.	Electronics. to decrease the amplitude of (an electronic signal).

–verb (used without object)

5.	to become thin or fine; lessen.

–adjective

6.	weakened; diminishing.

7.	Botany. tapering gradually to a narrow extremity.

[Origin: 1520–30; < L attenuātus (ptp. of attenuāre to thin, reduce). See at-, tenuis, -ate¹

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Attenuate

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

at·ten·u·ate Audio Help   (ə-těn'yōō-āt') Pronunciation Key
v.   at·ten·u·at·ed, at·ten·u·at·ing, at·ten·u·ates

v.   tr.

To make slender, fine, or small: The drought attenuated the river to a narrow channel.
To reduce in force, value, amount, or degree; weaken: Medicine attenuated the fever's effect.
To lessen the density of; rarefy.
Biology To make (bacteria or viruses) less virulent.
Electronics To reduce (the amplitude of an electrical signal) with little or no distortion.

v. intr.
To become thin, weak, or fine.

adj. (-yōō-ĭt)

Reduced or weakened, as in strength, value, or virulence.
Botany Gradually tapering to a slender point.

[Latin attenuāre, attenuāt- : ad-, ad- + tenuāre, to make thin (from tenuis, thin; see ten- in Indo-European roots).]

at·ten'u·a'tion n.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
attenuate (v.)

1530, from L. attenuatus, pp. of attenuare "to make thin," from ad- "to" + tenuare "make thin," from tenuis "thin" (see tenet).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

attenuate
adjective
1.	reduced in strength; "the faded tones of an old recording"
verb
1.	weaken the consistency of (a chemical substance) [syn: rarefy]
2.	become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Attenuate

At*ten"u*ant\, a. [L. attenuans, p. pr. of attenuare: cf. F. att['e]nuant. See Attenuate.] Making thin, as fluids; diluting; rendering less dense and viscid; diluent. -- n. (Med.) A medicine that thins or dilutes the fluids; a diluent.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Attenuate

At*ten"u*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attenuated; p. pr. & vb. n. Attenuating.] [L. attenuatus, p. p. of attenuare; ad + tenuare to make thin, tenuis thin. See Thin.]

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Attenuate

At*ten"u*ate\, v. i. To become thin, slender, or fine; to grow less; to lessen.

The attention attenuates as its sphere contracts. --Coleridge.

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