attractive
Americanadjective
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providing pleasure or delight, especially in appearance or manner; pleasing; charming; alluring.
an attractive personality.
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arousing interest or engaging one's thought, consideration, etc.: an attractive price.
an attractive idea;
an attractive price.
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having the quality of attracting.
adjective
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appealing to the senses or mind through beauty, form, character, etc
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arousing interest
an attractive opportunity
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possessing the ability to draw or pull
an attractive force
Other Word Forms
- attractively adverb
- attractiveness noun
- superattractive adjective
- unattractive adjective
- unattractively adverb
- unattractiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of attractive
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,” attract, -ive
Explanation
Anybody or anything that's attractive is visually pleasing or draws you in. Being attractive has to do with attracting others, one way or another. If you're talking about a magnet, that's a literal, physical kind of attraction. For people, being attractive usually means you're beautiful or handsome enough to pull in the attention of others. But having a great personality or a good job are attractive traits, too. If someone offered to give you something valuable for a good price, you could also say, "That's an attractive offer" — meaning it's tempting.
Vocabulary lists containing attractive
Structure and Properties of Matter - Middle School
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Structure and Properties of Matter - Introductory
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Structure and Properties of Matter - High School
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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.
The sector’s pullback has brought the multiples of the once highly priced leaders back to more attractive levels.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
That makes it an attractive market for many companies–and explains the nearly 400% rise in Eli Lilly shares over the past five years.
From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026
But when these two lines diverge in a meaningful way, it could signal an attractive opportunity to buy, Dorsey said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026
“We see an attractive entry point for an AI beneficiary,” Sherman wrote of Datadog.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
Our tests were administered by an attractive French psychologist named Madame Haberman, who was herself a Mensa member.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
