| 释义 |
▪ I. attenuate, v.|əˈtɛnjuːeɪt|
[f. L. attenuāt- ppl. stem of attenuāre, f. at- = ad- to + tenuāre to make thin, f. tenuis thin. Cf. F. atténuer, 12th c.]
1. To make thin or slender in girth or diameter (e.g. by natural or artificial shaping, drawing out, wearing down, starving, physical decay).
1530Palsgr. 440/1, I attenuate, I make thynne, Jattenue. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. iii. x. (1651) 111 They crucifie the soul of man, attenuate our bodies. 1668Culpepper & Cole tr. Barthol. Anat. i. xvii. 47 The Ureters in their progress are not attenuated within, as other Vessels are. 1794Sullivan View Nat. I. 47 This shell also being attenuated..the surface of the earth will tumble in. 1848A. Jameson Sacr. & Leg. Art (1850) 203 The wasted unclad form is seen attenuated by vigils. 1876Bancroft Hist. U.S. III. iii. 344 To attenuate them by gently drawing them out.
2. a. To make thin in consistency, to separate the particles of a substance, to diminish density, rarefy.
1594Plat Jewell-ho. i. 40 Earth beeing attenuated becommeth water. 1691E. Taylor Behmen's Theos. Phil. 187 The Suns lustre attenuateth the gross air. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters I. 48 Burning spirits..are oils attenuated and subtilised by the action of fermentation. 1762tr. Duhamel's Husb. i. iii. 5 Salt, for example, may attenuate earth. 1874[see attenuated 2.]
b. spec. in Med. To render thinner (the humours or concretions of the body).
1533Elyot Cast. Helth ii. xiv. (R.) Dry figges..havinge power to attenuate or make humours currant. 1605Timme Quersit. i. xiii. 64 O[y]le of pepper doth attenuat..tartarus matters in the body. 1797Downing Disord. Horn. Cattle 13 These medicines..powerfully attenuate the cloggy disposition of the blood.
3. fig. To weaken or reduce in force, effect, amount; in value, estimation; (obs.) to extenuate.
1530Palsgr. 440/1 He hath attenuat my power. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 49 The delightfulnesse of the one will attenuate the tediousnesse of the other. c1645Howell Lett. (1650) I. 335 The Mahometans..attenuated their numbers in Asia. 1660A. Sidney in Four C. Eng. Lett. 119 To aggravate that, which he doth intend to attenuate. 1850Q. Rev. June 15 Some Notes..intended to attenuate the authority of the Christian philosopher. 1869Lecky Europ. Mor. I. i. 117 To attenuate..his own appetites and emotions.
4. intr. To become slender, thinner, or weaker.
a1834Coleridge (in Webster), The attention attenuates as its sphere contracts.
5. Electr. To introduce attenuation; in pass., to be subjected to attenuation. Cf. attenuation 4.
1886Lord Rayleigh in Phil. Mag. 5th Ser. XXII. 490 If we had the means of observing the passage of signals at various points of a long cable, we should find them not merely retarded..as we recede from the sending end, but also attenuated. 1892Heaviside Electr. Papers II. 133 The act of reflection attenuates. Ibid. 346 During transmission along the circuit, the vibrations are attenuated. 1959Chambers's Encycl. VII. 696/2 The lower part of the Heaviside layer is of particular importance..because it is in this region that radio waves used for long-distance communication are attenuated.
▪ II. attenuate, ppl. a.|əˈtɛnjuːət|
[ad. L. attenuātus, pa. pple. of attenuāre: see prec.]
Made thin.
1. Slender, thin; tapered, reduced to thinness.
1848Dana Zooph. 161 Tentacles numerous, attenuate, diaphanous. 1864Mrs. H. Wood Shadow of Ashlydyat (1878) 433 She saw the white and wan face, the attenuate hands. 1880Gray Bot. Text-bk. 398 Attenuate, slenderly tapering or narrow.
2. Thin in consistency, rarefied; refined.
1626Bacon Sylva §938 Such a rare and attenuate substance, as is the spirit of living creatures. 1647H. More Song of Soul iii. Pref./1 The life of the body..hinders us of the sight of more attenuate phantasmes. 1879G. Meredith Egoist I. xiv. 255 The idea is too exquisitely attenuate. |
