1. To make someone aware of and responsive to particular needs, feelings, or conditions.
2. To bring sounds, instruments, or other things into a harmonious relationship.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- attune oneself to
- attuned to others' needs
- attune the ear
On the page
Listening without interrupting helped her attune herself to the patient's fears.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- attune
- Past tense
- attuned
- Past participle
- attuned
- Present participle
- attuning
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- attune
- Present continuous
- am/is/are attuning
- Present perfect
- have/has attuned
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been attuning
- Past
- attuned
- Past continuous
- was/were attuning
- Past perfect
- had attuned
- Past perfect continuous
- had been attuning
- Future
- will attune
- Future continuous
- will be attuning
- Future perfect
- will have attuned
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been attuning
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated prose. Lexical Type: Word. Forms: attune; attunes; attuned; attuned; attuning Commonness: moderately common (editorial estimate; not a corpus frequency statistic). Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1; numbered fields keep each relevant meaning separate. Research distinction: MW gives musical harmony and awareness/responsiveness; the latter suits perception and empathetic characterization. Writing functions: precise action, characterization. Third-person singular: attunes.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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