attenuation vs reduction

attenuation

noun
  • A reduction in the level of some property with distance, especially the amplitude of a wave or the strength of a signal. 

  • The reduction of the active principles of medicines to minute doses. 

  • The tapering of a leaf etc to a fine point. 

  • A weakening in the virulence of a pathogen or other microorganism. 

  • A fabrication process in which a material is stretched out into a thin shape. 

  • The proportion of sugar that is converted to ethanol by a yeast. 

  • A gradual diminishing of strength. 

reduction

noun
  • The amount or rate by which something is reduced, e.g. in price. 

  • a transformation of one problem into another problem, such as mapping reduction or polynomial reduction. 

  • An arrangement for a far smaller number of parties, e.g. a keyboard solo based on a full opera. 

  • A reduced price of something by a fraction or decimal. 

  • The act, process, or result of reducing. 

  • A reaction in which electrons are gained and valence is reduced; often by the removal of oxygen or the addition of hydrogen. 

  • The rewriting of an expression into a simpler form. 

  • The process of rapidly boiling a sauce to concentrate it. 

  • A philosophical procedure intended to reveal the objects of consciousness as pure phenomena. (See phenomenological reduction.) 

  • The ratio of a material's change in thickness compared to its thickness prior to forging and/or rolling. 

  • A medical procedure to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment, usually with a closed approach but sometimes with an open approach (surgery). 

How often have the words attenuation and reduction occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )