# attenuate

> English word · Verb · IPA /əˈtɛn.juˌeɪt/ · frequency rank #62,688

## Definitions
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.

## 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).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/attenuate