Meaning & use
attenuate
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitivetechnical
To make something weaker, thinner or less intense, especially a signal, force, wave or effect as it travels or as time passes.
Grammar: Takes an object: thick walls attenuate sound.
Patterns
- attenuate something
- attenuate something by something
Thick concrete walls attenuate radio signals, so the phone loses coverage in the basement.
The filter attenuates high frequencies without changing the bass.
Dense fog attenuates the light from the lighthouse.
verbintransitivetechnical
To become weaker or less intense gradually, as a signal, wave or effect does over distance or time.
Grammar: No object: the signal attenuates as it travels.
Patterns
- something attenuates
- something attenuates with distance
The signal attenuates quickly once it leaves the cable.
Sound attenuates with distance, which is why a distant siren seems faint.
The immune response to the vaccine can attenuate after several months.
verbtransitivemedicalbiology
In medicine and biology, to weaken a germ so that it can still trigger immunity but is much less likely to cause serious illness.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually a virus or bacterium; often used in the passive: an attenuated virus.
Patterns
- attenuate a virus
- an attenuated vaccine
Researchers attenuate the virus by growing it for many generations in cell cultures.
The vaccine uses a live, attenuated strain of the bacterium.
Once the pathogen was attenuated, it could be tested safely on animals.
Word forms
| third person singular | attenuates |
|---|---|
| past tense | attenuated |
| past participle | attenuated |
| -ing form | attenuating |
Common combinations
- attenuate a signal
- A long, poorly made cable will attenuate the signal before it reaches the speaker.
- attenuate the effect
- Wearing sunglasses attenuates the effect of the glare.
- attenuate with distance
- Light from a lamp attenuates with distance, following a predictable pattern.
- gradually attenuate
- The vibrations gradually attenuate after the machine is switched off.
- attenuated virus
- An attenuated virus can train the body to recognise the real one.
Synonyms and how they differ
- weaken
- Weaken is the everyday word for any loss of strength, whereas attenuate sounds technical and suggests a measurable fall in a signal or force.
- dampen
- Dampen suggests reducing something like noise, enthusiasm or vibration, usually by putting something in its way, while attenuate is the neutral scientific term.
- diminish
- Diminish means to become or make smaller in general and is not tied to waves, signals or distance as attenuate is.
- dilute
- Dilute means to make weaker by adding something such as water, so it fits liquids and ideas better than signals.
Opposites
Word family
- attenuation noun
- the gradual loss of strength of a signal, wave or force
- attenuated adjective
- made weaker or thinner, as in an attenuated virus
- attenuator noun
- a device that reduces the strength of a signal
Commonly confused: attenuate or extenuate? attenuate or attenuate vs. attend?
attenuate vs extenuate
Extenuate means to make a fault seem less serious, as in extenuating circumstances, and has nothing to do with signals weakening.
attenuate vs attenuate vs. attend
They look alike but attend means to be present or pay attention, while attenuate means to weaken.
Practice
Which sentence uses attenuate correctly?
Choose one answer.
Attenuate means to reduce the strength of something such as sound, which is what the hedge does. The other sentences confuse it with words like attend or give it no sensible meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “attenuate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.