attachment

[uh-tach-muhnt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR attachment ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act of attaching or the state of being attached.

a feeling that binds one to a person, thing, cause, ideal, or the like; devotion; regard: a fond attachment to his cousin; a profound attachment to the cause of peace.

Psychology.

an emotional bond between an infant or toddler and primary caregiver, a strong bond being vital for the child’s normal behavioral and social development.
an enduring emotional bond that develops between one adult and another in an intimate relationship: romantic attachment.

something that attaches; a fastening or tie: the attachments of a harness; the attachments of a pair of skis.

an additional or supplementary device: attachments for an electric drill.

Law. seizure of property or person by legal authority, especially seizure of a defendant's property to prevent its dissipation before trial or to acquire jurisdiction over it.

something attached, as a document added to a letter.

a computer or electronic file sent with an email.

Origin of attachment

1400–50; late Middle English attachement seizure < Anglo-French. See attach, -ment

Related formsnon·at·tach·ment, nouno·ver·at·tach·ment, nounpre·at·tach·ment, nounre·at·tach·ment, nounself-at·tach·ment, nounsu·per·at·tach·ment, noun

Synonyms for attachment

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR attachment ON THESAURUS.COM

2. love, devotedness. 4. junction, connection.

Synonym study

5. See addition.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for attachment

connection, friendship, affinity, loyalty, devotion, clamp, junction, coupling, joint, fastener, link, tie, bond, adapter, connector, auxiliary, extension, annex, addition, extra

Examples from the Web for attachment

Contemporary Examples of attachment

The problem with this attachment to a particular place, though, is that it can seem limiting.
Will Texas Stay Texan?
David Fontana
December 29, 2014
The locals worship their ancestors, and their attachment to family land is almost visceral.
Lush Places: The Scotland of India
Tunku Varadarajan
March 25, 2014
For those in the movement, this means cultivating an attachment to Israel while fostering critical thinking.
Habonim Dror Cultivates A Sophisticated Take on Jewish Identity
Mira Sucharov
December 11, 2013
Yet he made a rare exception for 'Ocean,' confirming his attachment to it.
What the Leaked J.D. Salinger Stories Reveal About the Author
Andrew Romano
November 30, 2013
The combination of emotional abuse and overt sexualization resulted in an attachment disorder.
What Made Anders Behring Breivik a Mass Killer in Norway?
Aage Borchgrevink
November 24, 2013

Historical Examples of attachment

This satisfied him, for he cared nothing for the attachment of those under his command.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
To increase the attachment of our people to the Union, our laws should be just.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
I shall trouble you meanwhile to prevent his forming any other attachment when he comes to town.
Lady Susan
Jane Austen
And had not I proofs of his generous conduct and attachment to me?
Tales And Novels, Volume 4 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
What I value him so much for it his fidelity to myself, and his attachment to the whole family.
Georgie's Present
Miss Brightwell

British Dictionary definitions for attachment

attachment

noun

a means of securing; a fastening

(often foll by to) affection or regard (for); devotion (to)attachment to a person or to a cause

an object to be attached, esp a supplementary partan attachment for an electric drill

the act of attaching or the state of being attached

the arrest of a person for disobedience to a court order
the lawful seizure of property and placing of it under control of a court
a writ authorizing such arrest or seizure

law the binding of a debt in the hands of a garnishee until its disposition has been decided by the court

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

Word Origin and History for attachment

c.1400, "arrest of a person on judicial warrant" (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), from French attachement, from attacher (see attach). Application to property (including, later, wages) dates from 1590s; meaning "sympathy, devotion" is recorded from 1704; that of "something that is attached to something else" dates from 1797 and has become perhaps the most common use since the rise of e-mail.