Key facts

Atténuer

To soften · to soften/to diminish/to mitigate/to ease

C1Regular
Stem
atténu
Past participle
atténué

Examples

J'atténue le bruit.

I muffle the noise.

Il n'atténue pas le son.

It doesn't dampen the sound.

Nous atténuions tout.

We were softening everything.

Nous avons atténué ça.

We toned that down.

Présent

Indicative present — everyday actions, ongoing situations, and habits; the tense you rely on most in conversation.

Group 1
J'atténue
Isoften
Tuatténues
Yousoften
Ilatténue
Hesoftens
Nousatténuons
Wesoften
Vousatténuez
Yousoften
Ilsatténuent
Theysoften

Futur proche

Near future with aller + infinitive — what you are about to do, very soon after the moment of speaking.

Jevais atténuer
Iam going to soften
Tuvas atténuer
Youare going to soften
Ilva atténuer
Heis going to soften
Nousallons atténuer
Weare going to soften
Vousallez atténuer
Youare going to soften
Ilsvont atténuer
Theyare going to soften

Passé récent

Recent past with venir de + infinitive — something that has just finished, still fresh in the speaker’s mind.

Jeviens d'atténuer
Ihave just softened
Tuviens d'atténuer
Youhave just softened
Ilvient d'atténuer
Hehas just softened
Nousvenons d'atténuer
Wehave just softened
Vousvenez d'atténuer
Youhave just softened
Ilsviennent d'atténuer
Theyhave just softened

Passé composé

Compound past with être or avoir + past participle — completed, one-off events and the backbone of spoken storytelling.

J'ai atténué
Ihave softened
Tuas atténué
Youhave softened
Ila atténué
Hehas softened
Nousavons atténué
Wehave softened
Vousavez atténué
Youhave softened
Ilsont atténué
Theyhave softened

Conditionnel présent

Conditional mood — polite requests, imagined outcomes, and what would happen under certain conditions.

J'atténuerais
Iwould soften
Tuatténuerais
Youwould soften
Ilatténuerait
Hewould soften
Nousatténuerions
Wewould soften
Vousatténueriez
Youwould soften
Ilsatténueraient
Theywould soften

Futur simple

Simple future — often more formal or literary than the near future; states intentions farther ahead in time.

J'atténuerai
Iwill soften
Tuatténueras
Youwill soften
Ilatténuera
Hewill soften
Nousatténuerons
Wewill soften
Vousatténuerez
Youwill soften
Ilsatténueront
Theywill soften

Imparfait

Imperfect — repeated habits in the past, background description, and actions still in progress when something else occurred.

J'atténuais
Iwas softening
Tuatténuais
Youwere softening
Ilatténuait
Hewas softening
Nousatténuions
Were softening
Vousatténuiez
Youwere softening
Ilsatténuaient
Theywere softening

Impératif présent

Present imperative — direct commands and friendly requests; only tu, nous, and vous person forms exist.

(Tu)atténue
Yousoften
(Nous)atténuons
Wesoften
(Vous)atténuez
Yousoften

Participe présent

Present participle — the -ant form in subordinate clauses, compound tenses, and many fixed expressions.

atténuant
softening

Gérondif présent

Gerund with en + present participle — simultaneous action, manner, or cause while something else is going on.

en atténuant
softening

Similar conjugation models (Regular)

Croissant Verbs — application icon

Practice Atténuer in the app

Atténuer | Verbs | Croissant Verbs