attraction
[uh-trak-shuh n]
- the act, power, or property of attracting.
- attractive quality; magnetic charm; fascination; allurement; enticement: the subtle attraction of her strange personality.
- a person or thing that draws, attracts, allures, or entices: The main attraction was the after-dinner speaker.
- a characteristic or quality that provides pleasure; attractive feature: The chief attractions of the evening were the good drinks and witty conversation.
- Physics. the electric or magnetic force that acts between oppositely charged bodies, tending to draw them together.
- an entertainment offered to the public.
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Origin of attraction
Synonyms
See more synonyms for attraction on Thesaurus.com2. appeal, lure. 6. show, spectacle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for attraction
Contemporary Examples
Fees can range from £5,000 to £20,000, the attraction being the relatability she holds with her subscribers.
Was part of the attraction to the project shining a light in this bizarre blight on America?
For those who want the most out of the attraction, they can be branded with a bloody X on their foreheads.
New York’s Scariest Night Out: The Ghosts, Rats, and Lunatics of ‘Nightmare New York’Justin Jones
October 4, 2014
When Nathan and Anna met in 1894, the attraction was instant and mutual.
Although extremely private, the couple has been particularly candid about their attraction and devotion to each other.
Historical Examples
You will be the only attraction at this performance, and I have only you to count on for the receipts.
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
A ton on some other planet, where the attraction of gravity is less, does not weigh half a ton.
Pax VobiscumHenry Drummond
The weight of a load depends upon the attraction of the earth.
Pax VobiscumHenry Drummond
The place has no attraction for me without you, and it was yours first.
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
The earth-house had no longer any attraction for Steenie: the bonny man was not there; he was risen!
Heather and SnowGeorge MacDonald
attraction
- the act, power, or quality of attracting
- a person or thing that attracts or is intended to attract
- a force by which one object attracts another, such as the gravitational or electrostatic force
- a change in the form of one linguistic element caused by the proximity of another element
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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 attraction
n.
late 14c., from French attraction, from Latin attractionem (nominative attractio) "a drawing together," noun of action from past participle stem of attrahere (see attract). Originally a medical word, "absorption by the body;" meaning "action of drawing to" is from 1540s (again medical); extended to magnetic, then figuratively to personal (c.1600) qualities. Meaning "a thing which draws a crowd, interesting or amusing exhibition" is from 1829, a sense that developed in English and soon transferred to the French equivalent of the word.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
attraction
(ə-trăk′shən)- A force acting mutually between particles of matter to draw them together and to resist their separation.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.