attachment

[ uh-tach-muhnt ]

/ əˈtætʃ mənt /

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.

Nearby words

attaboy, attacca, attach, attached, attached gingiva, attachment, attachment disorder, attachment of earnings, attachment parenting, attachment theory, attaché

Origin of attachment

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

SYNONYMS FOR attachment

2 love, devotedness.

4 junction, connection.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR attachment ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

non·at·tach·ment, nouno·ver·at·tach·ment, nounpre·at·tach·ment, nounre·at·tach·ment, noun

self-at·tach·ment, nounsu·per·at·tach·ment, noun

Synonym study

5. See addition.

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Whatever was the date or progress of the attachment, Southey was now engaged to be married.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 69, No. 425, March, 1851|Various
The attachment for the home is very strong, and they take pride in large families which stick together.
Bohemia under Hapsburg Misrule|Various
Believe in our attachment; and we shall see you here now and then, and correspond with you when you are away.
Sandra Belloni, Complete|George Meredith
The rosette is affixed with a brass bolt, also for attachment, which must have extended through the front of the cap.
American Military Insignia 1800-1851|J. Duncan Campbell and Edgar M. Howell.
His indifference was hard to bear; but so long as he assured her that he had formed no other attachment, she made no complaint.
Mary Wollstonecraft|Elizabeth Robins Pennell

British Dictionary definitions for attachment

attachment

/ (əˈtætʃmənt) /

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