Describing a process of wearing down or weakening through sustained pressure, gradual loss, or slow depletion. It highlights a situation where the impact accumulates over time, rather than occurring suddenly. Often related to a slow but steady decline, like in warfare, business competition, or even physical health. The key concept is that of gradual, incremental erosion or reduction, where the final outcome is the result of numerous small losses or degradations. This word underlines the significance of persistent factors and the long-term consequences of slow, continuous attrition.
Attritional meaning with examples
- The company faced an attritional struggle in the market, slowly losing customers to newer, more agile competitors. Their business plan hadn't foreseen a market shift, and this lead to reduced revenue and overall market share after years of being highly profitable. This ultimately lead to the company's failure.
- Military strategists anticipated an attritional conflict, expecting a prolonged war of attrition where the strength and resources of each side would slowly be worn down over an extensive period. They focused on sustainable supplies, and the ability to keep replacing troops as needed.
- The athlete's training regime led to an attritional decline in their muscle mass due to chronic overtraining and insufficient recovery. This reduced stamina and strength. This affected their performance significantly, even though they tried their best.
- The constant pressure of economic hardship created an attritional effect on family relationships, straining them through financial worries and leading to disagreements over resources. This resulted in increased fighting within the household.
- Due to an attritional sales program, the project slowly lost its initial financial backing as the market demanded more. This lead to changes in leadership to bring fresh ideas to the group and the business as a whole, but was unsuccessful. This was the final nail in the coffin.