v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Attenuated p. pr. & vb. n. Attenuating ] [ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To lessen the amount, force, or value of; to make less complex; to weaken. [ 1913 Webster ]

To undersell our rivals . . . has led the manufacturer to . . . attenuate his processes, in the allotment of tasks, to an extreme point. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

We may reject and reject till we attenuate history into sapless meagerness. Sir F. Palgrave. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become thin, slender, or fine; to grow less; to lessen. [ 1913 Webster ]

The attention attenuates as its sphere contracts. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. [ L. attenuatus, p. p. ] 1. Made thin or slender. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Made thin or less viscid; rarefied. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. attenuatio: cf. F. atténuation. ] 1. The act or process of making slender, or the state of being slender; emaciation. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of attenuating; the act of making thin or less dense, or of rarefying, as fluids or gases. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The process of weakening in intensity; diminution of virulence; as, the attenuation of virus. [ 1913 Webster ]