atenuadas

Atenuadas is the feminine plural form of the adjective atenuada (or atenuado in masculine), used in Spanish to describe things that have been attenuated, diminished, or weakened in intensity, amplitude, or effect. The term derives from the verb atenuar, which comes from Latin attenuatus through French attenuer.

Usage spans multiple domains. In science and engineering, señales atenuadas refer to signals whose amplitude has been reduced, such as radio waves that travel through a lossy medium, or luz atenuada when light is partially absorbed. In medicine and biology, vacunas atenuadas (live attenuated vaccines) use weakened pathogens to stimulate immunity without causing severe disease; the term also applies to attenuated strains of microorganisms used in research. In pharmacology and toxicology, responses may be described as atenuadas when their intensity is lowered by dosage, delivery method, or antagonists.

In everyday Spanish, the expression is used to describe processes or effects that are weakened: opiniones atenuadas or estimaciones atenuadas, where language is softened or the impact reduced.

In linguistics or rhetoric, attenuated expressions refer to wording that minimizes emphasis or impact, as in diplomatic or hedged language. The term thus covers a broad range of contexts in which something has been weakened, reduced, or made less pronounced, whether in physical phenomena, biological applications, or communicative style.