Word Origin and History for attenuate Expand v. to make thin, to make less, 1520s, from Latin attenuatus enfeebled, weak, past participle of attenuare to make thin, lessen, diminish, from ad-to (see ad-) + tenuare make thin, from tenuis thin (see tenet).
Dependent Variable Definition: A dependent variable is the variable being tested in a scientific experiment. The dependent variable is 'dependent' on the independent variable. As the experimenter changes the independent variable, the change in the dependent variable is observed and recorded.
dependent variable, (in research) a factor that is measured to learn the effect of one or more independent variables. For example, in a study of the effect of preoperative nursing intervention on postoperative vomiting, vomiting is the dependent variable measured to determine the effect of the nursing intervention.