attritional

A1T1T1R1I1T1I1O1N1A1L1
US/əˈtɹɪ.ʃə.nəl/

adjective

Of or pertaining to attrition.

“attritional wear on a molar”

Scrabble 11

Meanings

adjectiveattritional (comparative more attritional, superlative most attritional)

comparative more attritional · superlative most attritional

  1. Of or pertaining to attrition.

    attritional wear on a molar

    5 more examples

    a prolonged attritional battle

    After months of attritional, heavy-handed flirting […]

    2009 February 1, Victoria Coren, “Ah, first love … lots of Steven Berkoff and no snogging”, in The Guardian

    Sighted on Habitat 7, this unknown species has proven to be extremely dangerous. Their armor and equipment suggest a technologically advanced species capable of spaceflight, while their battle tactics indicate attritional warfare with a centralized command.

    2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Unknown Species Codex entry

    The drama of the finale was at odds with almost of all the match, which was an attritional affair on a tricky surface.

    2019 July 14, Stephan Shemilt, “England win Cricket World Cup: Ben Stokes stars in dramatic finale against New Zealand”, in BBC Sport, London

    The first half was attritional, too congested for England’s liking. Tuchel has talked about bringing Premier League levels of intensity but that was in short supply.

    2025 March 24, David Hytner, “Reece James bends it like Beckham to help England break down Latvia”, in The Guardian

Origin

  1. Englishattrition
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  4. Englishattritional

From attrition + -al.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Welsh athreuliol
  • athreuliolof or pertaining to attrition

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with attritional

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

attritional. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attritional

MLA

“attritional.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attritional. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “attritional,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/attritional.

Source: attritional on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.