attrite
📖 Definitions
adjective
Regretting one’s wrongdoing only because of the fear of punishment.
verb tr., intr.
also attrit (uh-TRIT)
1. To wear down, erode, or weaken through sustained attacks, friction, etc.
2. To reduce the size of a workforce by not replacing those who leave.
3. To drop out from a course of study, job, training, etc.
💬 Usage Examples
“His heart is ‘attrite’ ... there will be parts of his life that he must deeply regret, parts that will not fit.” Philip Kitcher; Joyce’s Kaleidoscope; Oxford University Press; 2009. “Would it be death by 100 cuts as they nicked up the rent and attrited our spirit with a collapsed infrastructure (the toilet at my end of the hall had been clogged for a month) or would they simply burst in and begin defenestrating us?” Larry Duberstein; The Day the Bozarts Died; Permanent Press; 2015. “The coastline shifts, sands attrite and recede with little regard to human desires.” Dominick Mazzagetti; The Jersey Shore; Rutgers University Press; 2018.