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Definition of attenuate in English:

attenuate

Pronunciation /əˈtenyəˌwāt/ /əˈtɛnjəˌweɪt/ /əˈtenyo͞oət/ /əˈtɛnjuət/ /əˈtenyo͞oˌāt/ /əˈtɛnjuˌeɪt/

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Translate attenuate into Spanish

transitive verb

[with object]

  • 1Reduce the force, effect, or value of.

    • ‘her intolerance was attenuated by an unexpected liberalism’
    weakened, reduced, lessened, decreased, diminished, impaired, enervated
    1. 1.1Reduce the amplitude of (a signal, electric current, or other oscillation)
      • ‘the filter must severely attenuate frequencies above 10 Hz’
      weakened, reduced, lessened, decreased, diminished, impaired, enervated
    2. 1.2Reduce the virulence of (a pathogenic organism), especially when preparing a vaccine.
      • ‘the first live vaccine was insufficiently attenuated and produced a significant disease’

  • 2Reduce in thickness; make thin.

    thin, slender, slim, skinny, spindly, bony, gaunt, skeletal

adjective

rare

  • Reduced in force, effect, or physical thickness.

    ‘the doctrines of Christianity became very attenuate and distorted’
    • ‘On the other hand, for their own analysis Carling et al. used an attenuate isosceles triangle with a blunt snout as their model organism, rather than the profile of an eel.’
    thin, slender, slim, skinny, spindly, bony, gaunt, skeletal

Origin

Mid 16th century from Latin attenuat- ‘made slender’, from the verb attenuare, from ad- ‘to’ + tenuare ‘make thin’ (from tenuis ‘thin’).