Attune

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈtjuːn/

Definitions

1. To modify or synchronize something to align with specific expectations or conditions
2. To bring an aspect into harmony or awareness with the needs or emotions of others
3. To adjust or adapt something so it works well with other elements ; to become sensitive or receptive to particular feelings or circumstances

Etymology: Attune is simply tune with the prefix ad- ("to, toward") attached, so the word means something like "to bring into tune with." The prefix comes from Latin ad-, which English took in through Latin-derived words and then used freely to build new verbs from existing English ones. Tune itself is a much older word, rooted in the musical sense of a correct pitch, and attune carries that picture into a figurative one: a person or thing brought into agreement with something else, as strings are adjusted until they sound together. The metaphor is what makes the word work. Where tune describes getting an instrument right, attune describes getting a mind, a group, or a situation to resonate with another. Because the sense is figurative from the start, it has never meant much beyond this idea of harmony or alignment.

Synonyms: adjust, harmonize, align, adapt, acclimate

Antonyms: disrupt, dissonate, disconnect, alienate, misalign