attrited
Gradually worn away
Attrited is a back-formation from attrition, meaning worn down or reduced through sustained pressure, loss, or gradual erosion.
It appears most often in military and business contexts: The enemy forces were attrited over months of fighting.
In corporate settings, a workforce may be attrited through voluntary departures rather than layoffs.
The word strikes many ears as jargon, with "worn down" or "depleted" serving as plainer alternatives.
Severely reduced or emptied
- decreasedBecame smaller in amount
- reducedMade less in amount
- shrunkDecreased in size
- lessenedMade or became smaller
downsized · curtailed · declined · contracted · dwindled · thinned · winnowed · whittled
Worn away by rubbing
- groundSolid surface underfoot
- erodedGradually degraded by elements
- scrapedRubbed harshly against
- rubbedApplied pressure with motion
scoured · polished · smoothed · friction · grit · sandpaper · grinding · abrasion
depleted
Severely reduced or emptied
lessened · downsized · curtailed · declined · contracted · dwindled · thinned · winnowed · whittled · eroded
abraded
Worn away by rubbing
rubbed · scoured · polished · smoothed · friction · grit · sandpaper · grinding · abrasion · surface
casualties
Those killed or wounded
troops · combat · warfare · sustained · prolonged · campaign · siege · resistance · enemy · degraded
turnover
Sales volume or attrition
headcount · staffing · employees · talent · hiring · recruitment · churn · departures · vacancies · layoffs
attritedreinforced
Made more resistant
replenished · bolstered · strengthened · augmented · supplemented
- war of attritionProlonged conflict draining both sides
- attrition warfareDepleting enemy resources systematically
- attrition rateDeparture percentage over time