attenuation

/əˌtɛnyuˈeɪʃən/

Other forms: attenuations

Attenuation means a weakening or reduction. If you have a really intense crush on someone, but closer contact reveals that she smells funny in a bad way, you'll probably experience an attenuation of your romantic sensation.

The noun attenuation comes from the Latin verb meaning "make thin," but it's not just the bodies of hopeful models and ballerinas that undergo attenuation. Any instance of something becoming weaker or smaller could be an attenuation, like the attenuation of a radio signal as you drive out of town, the attenuation of your attention during a boring lecture, or the attenuation of your bank balance after a sudden, impulsive trip to Hawaii.

Definitions of attenuation

1. noun

   weakening in force or intensity
   “attenuation in the volume of the sound”

   synonyms: fading

   type of:

   weakening

   becoming weaker
2. noun

   the property of something that has been weakened or reduced in thickness or density
   type of:

   weakness

   the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain