Attenuate: meaning, definitions and examples

reduce intensity

To attenuate means to reduce the force, effect, or value of something. It is often used in a scientific or medical context to describe the weakening of a property, such as the intensity of a signal or the virulence of a virus. For example, an attenuated vaccine contains a form of the virus that has been weakened, thus reducing its ability to cause disease while still prompting an immune response. The term can also be applied to sound waves, light, or any phenomenon that can be diminished.

diminish, lessen, mitigate, reduce, weaken

Examples of usage

• The engineer found a way to attenuate the signal.

• The vaccine was designed to attenuate the virus's effects.

• They used filters to attenuate the noise in the recording.

• In physics, materials can attenuate electromagnetic radiation.