Attentive is applied to the senses of hearing and seeing, as, an attentive ear or eye; to the application
of the mind, as in contemplation; or to the application of the mind, in every possible sense, as when a
person is attentive to the words, and to the manner and matter, of a speaker at the same time.
2. Heedful of the comfort of others; courteous.
Syn. — Heedful; intent; observant; mindful; regardful; circumspect; watchful.
— At*ten"tive*ly, adv. — At*ten"tive*ness, n.
Attently
(At*tent"ly), adv. Attentively. [Obs.] Barrow.
Attenuant
(At*ten"u*ant) a. [L. attenuans, p. pr. of attenuare: cf. F. atténuant. See Attenuate.] Making
thin, as fluids; diluting; rendering less dense and viscid; diluent. — n. (Med.) A medicine that thins or
dilutes the fluids; a diluent.
Attenuate
(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.
Attenuate
(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.
Attenuate
(At*ten"u*ate At*ten"u*a`ted) a. [L. attenuatus, p. p.]
1. Made thin or slender.
2. Made thin or less viscid; rarefied. Bacon.
Attenuation
(At*ten`u*a"tion) n. [L. attenuatio: cf. F. atténuation.]
1. The act or process of making slender, or the state of being slender; emaciation.
2. The act of attenuating; the act of making thin or less dense, or of rarefying, as fluids or gases.
3. The process of weakening in intensity; diminution of virulence; as, the attenuation of virus.
Atter
(At"ter) n. [AS. &aemacrtter.] Poison; venom; corrupt matter from a sore. [Obs.] Holland.
Attercop
(At"ter*cop) n. [AS. attercoppa a spider; &aemacrtter poison + coppa head, cup.]
1. A spider. [Obs.]
2. A peevish, ill-natured person. [North of Eng.]
