attrition
/əˈtrɪʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈtrɪʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˈtri-shən a-/ (ame, mw)
attrition — 名詞
1. The strategy or process of wearing down an opponent's strength, resources, or wi
消耗
以持續攻擊削弱敵人
The strategy or process of wearing down an opponent's strength, resources, or will to fight through repeated attacks or sustained pressure, rather than through a single decisive blow.
General Ibrahim knew a war of attrition would drain both armies before victory.
Ibrahim 將軍明白，一場消耗戰會讓雙方軍隊都元氣大傷，然後才有明確的勝利。
war of attrition — fixed collocation for prolonged conflicts
Mei-Lin argued that daily cyberattacks worked as attrition, slowly breaking the rival firm's security systems.
Mei-Lin 認為，每天的小型網路攻擊是一種消耗策略，逐漸瓦解對手公司的安全系統。
Throughout winter, the guerrilla forces used attrition to weaken the occupying army.
在嚴酷的冬季裡，游擊隊靠消耗戰來削弱佔領軍的意志。
A steady campaign of sanctions became the main tool of economic attrition.
一連串制裁成了經濟消耗的主要工具。
- erosion
more concrete and physical; erosion of rock vs. attrition of an enemy's morale
- depletion
focuses on using up a resource entirely, while attrition emphasises gradual wearing through external pressure
- wearing-down
more informal and literal; attrition is the formal term for the same idea
- breakthrough
a sudden decisive victory, the opposite of slow attritional pressure
- overwhelming force
a strategy that aims to win quickly through superior power, not gradual weakening
文法句型
war of attrition
attrition campaign
用法筆記
Often appears in the fixed phrase war of attrition, especially in military and political contexts. The sense assumes a long-term, indirect approach — not a quick knockout.
常見錯誤
2. The gradual shrinking of a workforce that occurs when departing employees are no
自然流失
員工離職後不補人的縮編
The gradual shrinking of a workforce that occurs when departing employees are not replaced, allowing an organisation to reduce headcount without resorting to layoffs.
The hospital relied on natural attrition, choosing not to replace nurses who retired or resigned.
那家醫院靠自然流失來縮減人力，選擇不補上離職護理師的空缺。
natural attrition — key HR collocation for non-replacement downsizing
Ananya noticed the attrition rate rise sharply after the new overtime policy.
Ananya 發現，新的加班政策公布之後，公司的離職率急遽上升。
Instead of layoffs, the school board reduced its staff through attrition alone.
校董會沒有裁員，而是靠自然流失來縮減人事。
Wei's department lost three senior engineers this year through attrition, and no replacements were approved.
Wei 的部門今年有三位資深工程師因自然流失而離開，而且公司沒有核准任何遞補人員。
- natural wastage
British English synonym for attrition in HR contexts; less common in American usage
- workforce reduction
broader term that includes both layoffs and attrition; attrition is a specific type
- downsizing
can be active (firing) or passive; attrition is specifically passive
- recruitment drive
active hiring to increase staff numbers, the opposite of attrition-based reduction
- hiring freeze
related but distinct; a freeze stops all hiring, while attrition allows departures without replacement
文法句型
natural attrition
attrition rate
through attrition
用法筆記
Commonly modified by natural (natural attrition) to emphasise that departures are voluntary (retirement, resignation) rather than forced. The compound attrition rate is the standard metric in HR reporting.
常見錯誤
3. The phenomenon of students leaving a course or academic programme before complet
輟學率
學生在完成課程前退出
The phenomenon of students leaving a course or academic programme before completing it, often measured as a percentage or tracked by institutions as a metric of programme effectiveness.
The nursing course had high attrition, with a quarter leaving before year two.
護理課程的輟學率很高，有四分之一的學生在第二年之前就離開了。
high attrition — common adjective + noun pattern in academic contexts
Kenji's research examined attrition among first-year engineering students at three urban universities.
Kenji 的研究探討了三所都市大學大一工程學生的輟學情況。
To combat attrition, the college paired new students with senior advisers.
為了降低輟學率，學院將新生與高年級學長姐配對。
Amina credited the low attrition to small classes and strong peer support.
Amina 認為該課程的低輟學率，要歸功於小班制以及強大的同儕支持網絡。
- dropout rate
more direct and commonly understood by non-specialists; attrition sounds more formal
- retention failure
the inverse concept; attrition is what happens when retention fails
- student withdrawal
refers to the individual act; attrition refers to the aggregate pattern
- retention
the ability of an institution to keep students enrolled until completion
- graduation rate
the positive metric that contrasts with attrition as a negative one
文法句型
attrition rate
student attrition
high / low attrition
用法筆記
Often interchangeable with dropout rate in informal contexts, but attrition is preferred in formal academic research and institutional reporting. Closely related to sense 2 (workforce attrition) in its logic of gradual loss without replacement.
常見錯誤
4. The gradual erosion or wearing away of a surface or material caused by repeated
磨損
因摩擦或刮擦造成的侵蝕
The gradual erosion or wearing away of a surface or material caused by repeated physical friction, scraping, or contact over an extended period.
Over centuries, wind and sand attrition wore the cliff face into a smooth, curved shape.
風與沙的磨損，經過數百年將這座懸崖面侵蝕成平滑的弧形。
wind and sand attrition — typical agent pairing in geology
Diego's dentist spotted tooth attrition from years of grinding during sleep.
Diego 的牙醫發現他有牙齒磨損的跡象，是多年來睡夢中不自覺磨牙所造成的。
Attrition from thousands of daily footsteps had worn the museum's marble floor into shallow grooves.
數千雙腳日復一日的磨損，把博物館的大理石地板磨出了淺淺的凹槽。
River stones showed clear marks of attrition from tumbling against one another during seasonal floods.
河床的石頭在季節性洪水中互相碰撞，留下了明顯的磨損痕跡。
- accretion
the gradual growth or build-up of material, the opposite of wearing away
- deposition
the laying down of sediment, opposite of attrition in geological contexts
文法句型
attrition of [material]
cause attrition
用法筆記
This is the original, literal sense from which the metaphorical senses (military, HR, education) are derived. In dentistry, tooth attrition specifically refers to wear caused by tooth-to-tooth contact (grinding), distinct from erosion (chemical) or abrasion (foreign objects).