[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

attrition \attri"tion\, n. l. attritio: cf. f. attrition.
   1. the act of rubbing together; friction; the act of wearing
      by friction, or by rubbing substances together; abrasion.
      1913 webster

            effected by attrition of the inward stomach.
                                                  --arbuthnot.
      1913 webster

   2. the state of being worn. --johnson.
      1913 webster

   3. theol. grief for sin arising only from fear of
      punishment or feelings of shame. see contrition.
      --wallis.
      1913 webster
see also:
contrition 

[2] : WordNet (r) 2.0

attrition
     n 1: erosion by friction syn: abrasion, corrasion, detrition
     2: the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water
        or wind or ice syn: grinding, abrasion, detrition
     3: sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation syn: contrition,
         contriteness
     4: a wearing down to weaken or destroy; "a war of attrition"
     5: the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by
        friction
see also:
abrasion corrasion detrition grinding contrition contriteness 

[3] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

150 moby thesaurus words for "attrition":
   abatement, ablation, abrasion, abrasive, absorption, apologies,
   assimilation, atomization, attenuation, ayenbite of inwit, beating,
   bitterness, blunting, brecciation, buffing, burning up, burnishing,
   chafe, chafing, comminution, consumption, contriteness, contrition,
   corrosion, crumbling, crushing, curtailment, cut, cutting, damping,
   deadening, debilitation, decrease, decrement, deliquescence,
   depletion, depreciation, derogation, detraction, detrition,
   devitalization, digestion, dilution, diminution, dip,
   disintegration, disparagement, dissipation, dissolution, drain,
   dressing, dulling, eating up, effemination, enervation,
   enfeeblement, erasure, erosion, evisceration, exhaustion,
   expending, expenditure, extenuation, extraction, fatigue, filing,
   finishing, fragmentation, fretting, galling, granulation,
   granulization, grating, grazing, grief, grinding, impairment,
   impoverishment, inanition, ingestion, languishment, lessening,
   levigation, limation, loss, mashing, mitigation, penance,
   penitently, polishing, pounding, powdering, rasping, reduction,
   regret, regretfulness, regrets, regretting, relaxation, remission,
   remorse, remorse of conscience, remorsefulness, repentance,
   repining, retraction, retrenchment, rubbing away, rue, ruth,
   sandblasting, sanding, scouring, scrape, scraping, scratch,
   scratching, scrub, scrubbing, scuff, shame, shamefacedness,
   shamefastness, shamefulness, shining, shortening, shredding,
   shrinkage, slackening, smashing, smoothing, softening, sorriness,
   sorrow, spending, squandering, thinning, trituration, truncation,
   using up, wastage, waste, wastefulness, wasting away, weakening,
   wear, wear and tear, wearing away, wearing down, wistfulness

Attrition >> A Words
Attrition, definition of term: Attrition
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