attenuate
at·ten·u·ate/əˈtɛn.juˌeɪt/verb, adjective
attenuate is spelled A-T-T-E-N-U-A-T-E: 9 letters and 4 syllables (at·ten·u·ate). It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, attenuate means “To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in attenuate?
| Letters | 9: A-T-T-E-N-U-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: at·ten·u·ate |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,894th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is attenuate?
Attenuate appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,894th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce attenuate?
- US /əˈtɛn.juˌeɪt/
- Australia /əˈten.jʉˌæɪt/
Attenuate has 4 syllables, split at·ten·u·ate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-attenuate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of attenuate
- attenuates present, singular, he/she/it
- attenuating participle, present
- attenuated participle, past
- more attenuate comparative
- most attenuate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does attenuate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree.
- 2
To make thinner, as by physically reshaping, starving, or decaying.
- 3
To become thin or fine; to grow less.
- 4
To weaken.
- 5
To rarefy.
- 6
To reduce the virulence of a bacterium or virus.
- 7
To reduce the amplitude of an electrical, radio, or optical signal.
- 8
Of a beer, to become less dense as a result of the conversion of sugar to alcohol.
adjective
- 1
Slender, thin.
- 2
Rarefied, thin, refined.
- 3
Gradually tapering into a petiole-like extension toward the base.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Attenuate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | atténuer |
| German | verringern, vermindern, abschwächen, reduzieren, abmagern, dämpfen |
| Spanish | atenuar , atenuarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does attenuate come from?
The verb is 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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).