Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AT-TEN'U-ATE, v.t. [L. attenuo, of ad and tenuo, to make thin; L. tenuis; W. tenau; Ir. tana or tanaidhe; Eng. thin; which see.]

1. To make thin or less consistent; to subtilize or break the humors of the body into finer parts; to render less viscid; opposed to condense, incrassate or thicken.
2. To comminute; to break or wear solid substances into finer or very minute parts. This uninterrupted motion must attenuate and wear away the hardest rocks. – Trans. of Chaptal's Chimistry.
3. To make slender; to reduce in thickness.