Attrition — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

erosion by friction

the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kˈɑːɹn/

🇬🇧British English

/ɐtɹˈɪʃən/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɐtɹˈɪʃən/

3 syllables Say it as /kˈɑːɹn/.

Examples

a war of attrition

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

corrasion contrition contriteness grinding abrasion detrition

Parts of Speech

noun	erosion by friction
noun	the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice
noun	sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation
noun	a wearing down to weaken or destroy “a war of attrition”
noun	the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction

Word Forms

abrade	verb	wear away
attritional	adjective	relating to or caused by attrition
corrade	verb	wear away
grind	verb	reduce to small pieces or particles by pounding or abrading
contrite	adjective	feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses

Around the World

Europe

🇫🇷French

usure

érosion par frottement

🇪🇸Spanish

desgaste

erosión por fricción

🇮🇹Italian

logoramento

erosione per attrito

🇳🇱Dutch

slijtage

erosie door wrijving

🇵🇹Portuguese

atrito

erosão por fricção

🇷🇺Russian

потертость

эрозия трением

India

🇮🇳Hindi

संघर्षण

घर्षण से क्षरण

🇧🇩Bengali

ক্ষয়

ঘর্ষণ দ্বারা ক্ষয়

🇮🇳Tamil

தேய்வு

உராய்வு மூலம் அரிப்பு

🇮🇳Telugu

క్షీణత

రాపిడి ద్వారా కోత

🇮🇳Marathi

उदासीनता

घर्षण द्वारे धूप

🇮🇳Gujarati

ઘર્ષણ

ઘર્ષણ દ્વારા ધોવાણ

🇮🇳Kannada

ಸವಕಳಿ

ಘರ್ಷಣೆಯಿಂದ ಸವೆತ

🇮🇳Malayalam

ശോഷണം

ഘർഷണം വഴി മണ്ണൊലിപ്പ്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਤੰਗੀ

ਰਗੜ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਕਟੌਤੀ

🇵🇰Urdu

تناؤ

رگڑ سے کٹاؤ

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

消耗

摩擦侵蚀

🇯🇵Japanese

消耗

摩擦による浸食

🇰🇷Korean

마찰

마찰에 의한 침식

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sự hao mòn

xói mòn do ma sát

🇹🇭Thai

การขัดสี

การกัดเซาะด้วยแรงเสียดทาน

🇮🇩Indonesian

erosi

erosi karena gesekan

🇵🇭Filipino

attrisyon

pagguho ng alitan

🇲🇾Malay

pergeseran

hakisan oleh geseran

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الاستنزاف

التآكل عن طريق الاحتكاك

🇮🇷Persian

فرسایش

فرسایش در اثر اصطکاک

🇹🇷Turkish

yıpranma

sürtünme nedeniyle erozyon

🇮🇱Hebrew

שחיקה

שחיקה על ידי חיכוך

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'attrition'?

The primary meaning of 'attrition' is 'erosion by friction'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'attrition' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'attrition' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'attrition' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'attrition' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'attrition' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'attrition' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'attrition' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'attrition' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'attrition' in a professional email?

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Never

Would you classify 'attrition' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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