attune

1 of 2

verb

at·​tune ə-ˈtün How to pronounce attune (audio)
-ˈtyün
attuned; attuning; attunes
Synonyms of attune

transitive verb

1
: to bring into harmony : tune
2
: to make aware or responsive
attune businesses to changing trends
attunement
ə-ˈtün-mənt How to pronounce attune (audio)
-ˈtyün-
noun

attunement

2 of 2

noun

at·​tune·​ment ə-ˈtün-mənt How to pronounce attunement (audio) ə-ˈtyün- also a- How to pronounce attunement (audio)
plural -s
: the act of attuning : the state of being attuned
a delicate attunement to the written word—Atlantic

Synonyms of attune

Relevance

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of attune in a Sentence

Verb after years spent in academia, he's finding it difficult to attune himself to the corporate culture
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
As a chef, López-Alt is attuned to the regional preferences in hot dog toppings. — Dianna Douglas, NPR, 28 June 2026 Getting into nature and being attuned to it are related, but still separate skills. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 20 May 2026 For Monroe, though, the effort was always public and always suspect — the culture was attuned to see any book in her hand as a prop. — Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2026 The study adds to growing evidence that infants are biologically attuned to human social cues. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 1 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for attune

Word History

Etymology

Verb

see tune entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of attune was in 1592

Rhymes for attune

See All Rhymes for attune

Browse Nearby Words

Attucks
attune
attuned
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Attune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attune. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

attune

verb
at·​tune ə-ˈt(y)ün How to pronounce attune (audio)
: to bring into harmony : tune
attunement
-mənt How to pronounce attune (audio)
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on attune

Nglish: Translation of attune for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All