as in erosion
a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction
took the machinery out of operation since attrition had led to the main mechanism's breaking
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Recent Examples of attrition
The addition bolsters an offensive line that suffered some attrition at the end of last season.
—
Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2026
In recent congressional testimony, McNeill warned that prolonged funding lapses have strained the agency's workforce and operations, with rising absenteeism, attrition and long checkpoint wait times at some airports.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, a grim war of attrition continues along the about 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line that snakes along eastern and southern areas of Ukraine.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, a grim war of attrition continues along the roughly 800-mile front line that snakes along eastern and southern areas of Ukraine.
—Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for attrition
Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 24 Apr. 2026
In recent congressional testimony, McNeill warned that prolonged funding lapses have strained the agency's workforce and operations, with rising absenteeism, attrition and long checkpoint wait times at some airports.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, a grim war of attrition continues along the about 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) front line that snakes along eastern and southern areas of Ukraine.
—ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, a grim war of attrition continues along the roughly 800-mile front line that snakes along eastern and southern areas of Ukraine.
—Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for attrition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attrition
erosion
Noun
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The miss was driven by faster-than-expected generic erosion of the company's best-selling medicines Entresto, Promacta, and Tasigna, which each missed by between 7% and 17%, according to Citi analysts.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
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Investigators say initial reports said that a bass boat had hit a breakwater, which is a long wall usually built by the shore to reduce erosion.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Attrition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attrition. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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