Definition of attenuate in English:
attenuate
See synonyms for attenuate on Thesaurus.comTranslate attenuate into Spanish
transitive verb
[with object]1Reduce the force, effect, or value of.
- ‘this research provides a glimmer of hope that coral reefs can attenuate the effects of ocean acidification’
weakened, reduced, lessened, decreased, diminished, impaired, enervated- 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 - 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
Pronunciation
adjective
rareReduced 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
Pronunciation
Origin
Mid 16th century from Latin attenuat- ‘made slender’, from the verb attenuare, from ad- ‘to’ + tenuare ‘make thin’ (from tenuis ‘thin’).
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