attractive

[ uh-trak-tiv ]
See synonyms for attractive on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. providing pleasure or delight, especially in appearance or manner; pleasing; charming; alluring: an attractive personality.

  2. arousing interest or engaging one's thought, consideration, etc.: an attractive idea; an attractive price.

  1. having the quality of attracting.

Origin of attractive

1
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English attractif, attractive, (from Middle French at(t)ractif ), from Late Latin attractīvus “(of a medicine) having drawing power, absorptive,” derivative of attractus , “drawn, contracted,” see attract, -ive

Other words from attractive

  • at·trac·tive·ly, adverb
  • at·trac·tive·ness, noun
  • su·per·at·trac·tive, adjective
  • un·at·trac·tive, adjective
  • un·at·trac·tive·ly, adverb
  • un·at·trac·tive·ness, noun

Words Nearby attractive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use attractive in a sentence

  • Little girls perhaps represent the attractive function of adornment: they like to be thought pretty.

    Children's Ways | James Sully
  • Orlean was regarded as a fairly attractive woman; but her chin, unlike that of the one before him, was inclined to retreat.

    The Homesteader | Oscar Micheaux
  • The animals were sold in April, 1876, the place not being sufficiently attractive.

    Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
  • They certainly were attractive specimens of their race, and the Quaker miller who offered them had a most benignant countenance.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • All agreed that there was something particularly attractive in her appearance.

British Dictionary definitions for attractive

attractive

/ (əˈtræktɪv) /


adjective
  1. appealing to the senses or mind through beauty, form, character, etc

  2. arousing interest: an attractive opportunity

  1. possessing the ability to draw or pull: an attractive force

Derived forms of attractive

  • attractively, adverb
  • attractiveness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012