Attenuate

At-tĕn’ū-āte, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. ATTENUATED; p. pr. & vb. n. ATTENUATING.] [Lat. attenuatus, p. p. of attenuare, from ad and tenuare, to make thin, tenuis, thin; Fr. atténuer, Pr. atenuar.]

To make thin, or less consistent; to render less viscid; specifically, to subtilize, as the humors of the body, or to break them into finer parts.
To break or wear into finer or very minute parts; to comminute.

This uninterrupted motion must attenuate and wear away the hardest rocks. Chaptal, Trans.

To make slender; to reduce in thickness.
To draw out or extend in length.

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

At-tĕn’ū-āte, v. t.

At-tēn'ū-āte, v. i.

At-tĕn'ū-ate or At-tĕn'ū-ā'ted, a.