attenuate

Definition

To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree.

Etymology

The verb if first attested in 1530, the adjective in 1626; borrowed from Latin attenuātus, the perfect passive participle of attenuō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + tenuo (“to make thin”), itself from tenuis (“thin”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

Example Sentences

• "A manor-house clock from the far depths of shadow struck the hour, one, in a small, attenuated tone."
• "Clumps of attenuated turkeys were suspended here and there."
• "Lovell, wan and hollow-eyed, his arm in a sling, his once burly frame gaunt and attenuated with disease, nodded."

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