\At*ten"u*ate\, 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.
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.
3. To lessen the amount, force, or value of; to make less
   complex; to weaken.
         To undersell our rivals . . . has led the
         manufacturer to . . . attenuate his processes, in
         the allotment of tasks, to an extreme point. --I.
                                               Taylor.
         We may reject and reject till we attenuate history
         into sapless meagerness.              --Sir F.
                                               Palgrave.

\At*ten"u*ate\, v. i.
To become thin, slender, or fine; to grow less; to lessen.
      The attention attenuates as its sphere contracts.
                                               --Coleridge.

\At*ten"u*ate\, Attenuated \At*ten"u*a`ted\, a. [L.
attenuatus, p. p.]
1. Made thin or slender.
2. Made thin or less viscid; rarefied. --Bacon.