Attenuate (&unr_;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attenuated (&unr_;); p. pr. & vb. n. Attenuating (&unr_;).] [L. attenuatus, p. p. of attenuare; ad + tenuare to make thin, tenuis thin. See Thin.] 1. To make thin or slender, as by mechanical or chemical action upon inanimate objects, or by the effects of starvation, disease, etc., upon living bodies.
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2. To make thin or less consistent; to render less viscid or dense; to rarefy. Specifically: To subtilize, as the humors of the body, or to break them into finer parts.
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3. To lessen the amount, force, or value of; to make less complex; to weaken.
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To undersell our rivals . . . has led the manufacturer to . . . attenuate his processes, in the allotment of tasks, to an extreme point. I. Taylor.
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We may reject and reject till we attenuate history into sapless meagerness. Sir F. Palgrave.
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{ Attenuate (&unr_;), Attenuated (&unr_;), } a. [L. attenuatus, p. p.] 1. Made thin or slender.
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2. Made thin or less viscid; rarefied. Bacon.
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