ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsAattenuate
ISEE/SSAThard
attenuate
Meaning: to reduce the strength, force, or effect of something
attenuate in a sentence
How attenuate is used in real sentences:
Distance attenuated the sound of the drums to a faint pulse.
The thick concrete walls attenuate the radio signal inside the tunnel.
“She did not use the letter to humiliate him; instead, she explained how filtration could attenuate future harm without erasing responsibility for the past.”
— from the passage The Case She Carried
“Those soft pockets attenuated the metal's vibration, draining energy from each stroke before a clear tone could develop.”
— from the passage The Fault in the Bronze
Synonyms for attenuate
Other words for attenuate — weaken, diminish and reduce — carry the same meaning.
Antonyms of attenuate
Words that mean the opposite of attenuate:
- strengthen
- intensify
- amplify
Where it comes from
From Latin attenuare, meaning 'to make thin or weak.'
Word parts
- ad/ac/af/ag/ap/as/at — to or toward
attenuate: at- (toward; form of ad-) + tenu (thin) + -ate (make)
Memory hook
ATTENUATE sounds like 'a ten to eight': the number drops, just as strength attenuates.