attraction
Americannoun
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attractions
plural
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the act, power, or property of attracting.
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attractive quality; magnetic charm; fascination; allurement; enticement.
the subtle attraction of her strange personality.
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a person or thing that draws, attracts, allures, or entices.
The main attraction was the after-dinner speaker.
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a characteristic or quality that provides pleasure; attractive feature.
The chief attractions of the evening were the good drinks and witty conversation.
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Physics. the electric or magnetic force that acts between oppositely charged bodies, tending to draw them together.
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an entertainment offered to the public.
noun
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the act, power, or quality of attracting
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a person or thing that attracts or is intended to attract
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a force by which one object attracts another, such as the gravitational or electrostatic force
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a change in the form of one linguistic element caused by the proximity of another element
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of attraction
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English attraccioun, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin attractiōn-, stem of attractiō; equivalent to attract + -ion
Explanation
The charm or special quality of something that draws you to it is its attraction. The attraction of a college might be its sports program, for example, or the attraction of a job might be its high pay. An attraction can be a physical force as well as a psychological one — though sometimes, as with love, it can be hard to tell the two apart. Planets have a gravitational attraction to each other, as do opposite magnetic poles. Attraction can also refer to a public entertainment, such as a popular place or a performer or event. You might line up to visit a tourist attraction, or look forward to seeing the main attraction go onstage.
Vocabulary lists containing attraction
Electricity and Magnetism - Introductory
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Structure and Properties of Matter - Middle School
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Physics - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Audrey describes the moment they met at a gathering for donor conceived activists in 2010 as "love at first sight" - but was this connection a romantic or genetic attraction?
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
But for some visitors, the hustle and bustle of the tourist destinations are all part of the attraction.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
The current attraction toward AI is the same thing; if I can bring AI in, think of how many employees I can cut.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
In September 2025, she missed the announcement of a Dollywood attraction to recover from a kidney stone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
She suspected that he’d had a crush on her ever since they rescued him and his big sister Bianca from that military academy in Maine; but Annabeth had never felt any attraction to Nico.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Macron on X hailed the "unprecedented announcement", saying the attractions would be a "new global destination".
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
At last, part of the Lincoln Memorial undercroft opened to the public earlier this summer, immediately taking its place as one of Washington’s most breathtaking attractions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
In the last few years, Disney increasingly has leveraged the firm’s technology across its divisions, from theme park attractions to film and television production.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
People gathered at beaches, parks and attractions across the South East to watch the Moon pass in front of the Sun during a partial solar eclipse.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The usual lame menagerie of attractions promised great times for the whole family at Santa’s Petting Zoo or Wild Cat World or Aquadome, the big water park in Monroe.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
