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Attrition: meaning, example and synonyms

Attritionn. The gradual wearing down of strength or numbers through sustained pressure or loss.

Flashcard for Attrition (noun): the gradual wearing down of strength or numbers through sustained pressure or loss. Example: Researchers traced the rural clinic's staffing crisis to steady attrition, since retiring physicians were rarely replaced by younger colleagues willing to relocate. Synonyms: erosion, depletion, wearing down, dwindling. Antonyms: replenishment, growth, reinforcement. Memory tip: Attrition ~ friction: rubbed away bit by bit until little is left. Illustration: a long line of hikers on a mountain trail where only a few still climb toward the summit while the others sit resting on rocks along the path below.

Example

Researchers traced the rural clinic's staffing crisis to steady attrition, since retiring physicians were rarely replaced by younger colleagues willing to relocate.

Part of speech
noun
Synonyms
erosion, depletion, wearing down, dwindling
Antonyms
replenishment, growth, reinforcement
Memory tip
Attrition ~ friction: rubbed away bit by bit until little is left.

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Check yourself: Attrition in context

Pick the word that best completes each text.

Question 1

Teachers' unions warned that low salaries were causing steady ______ in rural districts, where each year more experienced instructors quietly left the profession than were replaced.

Question 2

Over millennia, the ______ of wind-borne sand against the sandstone cliffs carved them into the smooth arches and hollows that now draw geologists from around the world.

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