Attenuated - Definitions from Dictionary.com

3 results for: Attenuated

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.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Attenuated

To learn more about Attenuated visit Britannica.com

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.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

attenuated
adjective
1.	of an electrical signal; reduced in amplitude with little or no distortion
2.	reduced in strength; "the faded tones of an old recording" [syn: attenuate]