【每日一词】attenuate - /əˈtenjueɪt/ v. （使）减弱；（使）纤细，稀薄；adj. 减弱的；稀薄的；细小的

1 of 2 verb

transitive verb

1: to lessen the amount, force, magnitude, or value of : weaken

… shows great skill in the use of language to moderate or attenuate the impact of awkward facts.

—Bernard Lewis

2: to reduce the severity, virulence, or vitality of

an attenuated virus

3: to make thin or slender

Glass can be attenuated into fibers.

4: to make thin in consistency : rarefy

attenuate oil by heating it

intransitive verb

: to become thin, fine, or less

attenuate

2 of 2 adjective

1: reduced especially in thickness, density, or force

the attenuate limbs of a starving person

2: tapering gradually usually to a long slender point

attenuate leaves

Examples of attenuate in a Sentence

Verb

Earplugs will attenuate the loud sounds of the machinery.

an investment attenuated by significant inflation over the years

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

But together the three wives managed to hatch out a pack of boys, the Kennedy Third Gen, whom Callahan depicts as morally and intellectually attenuated, coddled, entitled, reckless and as ruinous to women as their fathers and grandfather.

—Nina Burleigh, Washington Post, 10 July 2024

What scientists do know, Grundmann said, is that aloe vera gel contains glucomannan, a carbohydrate that covers the skin, attenuating an inflammatory response.

—Karla Marie Sanford, Washington Post, 3 July 2024

But if people just send their AI agents out to do their shopping, booking, and buying for them, brands may find their direct access to the consumer diminished and attenuated.

—Sydney Lake, Fortune, 18 June 2024

Tube limiters — which attenuate the dynamic range of a sound — were absolutely not permitted.

—Marah Eakin, Vulture, 9 May 2024