aura
noun
a distinctive and pervasive quality or character; air; atmosphere.
Trivia Time
Aura comes from a Greek word meaning what?
aura
1 American
[awr-uh]
/ หษr ษ /
noun
-
auras,
plural
-
aurae
plural
-
a distinctive and pervasive quality or character; air; atmosphere.
an aura of respectability;
an aura of friendliness.
-
a subtly pervasive quality or atmosphere seen as emanating from a person, place, or thing.
-
Pathology. a sensation, as of lights or a current of warm or cold air, preceding an attack of migraine or epilepsy.
Aura
2
American
[awr-uh]
/ หษr ษ /
noun
Classical Mythology.
aura
British
/ หษหrษ /
noun
-
a distinctive air or quality considered to be characteristic of a person or thing
-
any invisible emanation, such as a scent or odour
-
pathol strange sensations, such as noises in the ears or flashes of light, that immediately precede an attack, esp of epilepsy
-
(in parapsychology) an invisible emanation produced by and surrounding a person or object: alleged to be discernible by individuals of supernormal sensibility
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aura
First recorded in 1350โ1400; Middle English, from Latin, from Greek: โbreath (of air)โ
Explanation
You know that intangible glow, that certain magical something that your mom gives off? Get your glasses fixed and you'll see the aura emanating from her head isn't her special powers โ just your bad eyes. You may have heard the noun aura used to describe the atmosphere surrounding something magical, like a fairy, or around a living being, like the calm vibes emanating from a meditating yogi. But did you know that it can refer to the sensation โ one of coolness or bright light โ thatโs experienced before the onset of a seizure or migraine? Aura can also apply to the force that some people believe radiates from living organisms as an indicator of their unique essence.
Vocabulary lists containing aura
Matilda
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A Long Way Gone
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Scrabble: Four-Letter Words with 3 Vowels
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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:
There wasn’t much open, giving the handsome and well-preserved Halberstadt a “Twilight Zone” aura.
From Los Angeles Times โ Sep. 25, 2026
The Americans bought into the package and Zuffa Boxing leaned heavily into his aura, with Dame Helen Mirren narrating a promotional film charting his rise.
From BBC โ Sep. 13, 2026
His prolonged absence from America also gave Lafayette a unique aura among the heroes of the Revolution, as he alone was untainted by the partisan politics that had followed.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Sep. 4, 2026
The expectation around Itauma will not disappear entirely overnight but the aura of invincibility has gone.
From BBC โ Aug. 29, 2026
Without warning, there was a flash, an aura of light far bigger and brighter than what Koffi had produced before.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Jen Eaves has been taking a slower approach to her mother’s cognitive decline, even though she’s the vice president of marketing for Aura, an identity-theft monitoring service.
From MarketWatch โ Oct. 6, 2026
"Aura is a lifestyle" that "almost no one understands," said the organizer of an upcoming battle in Buenos Aires.
From Barron's โ Aug. 22, 2026
Aura Salla, member of the European Parliament from Finland in the European People’s Party, said there is a growing acceptance that Europe needs technological sovereignty.
From Slate โ Feb. 13, 2026
Aura pairs the bioacoustic information it tracks from the wildlife with satellite-based environmental data, to provide broader context on the land and ecological conditions.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Feb. 2, 2026
"Three point five for Manner, three point two for Age, and two point four for Aura," Ivy says, and it's a punch to the stomach.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Kew expert Tuula Niskanen found two of the Scottish species, including Cortinarius aurae, which she named after her daughter, Aura.
From BBC โ Dec. 17, 2020
Just for a moment, one of the aurae became visible—an elfin girl in a white silk dress.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
War banners rustled from cedar ceiling beams as aurae blew back and forth, keeping everyone’s plates full.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
There was much talk of aurae at that time, and Fred mused that every beautiful, every compellingly beautiful woman, had an aura, whether other people did or no.
From The Song of the Lark by Willa Sibert Cather
These creations seem to glow, beckoning us toward their surfaces to be enveloped by the inviting auras they emit.
From The Wall Street Journal โ Jan. 9, 2026
"Spotify Wrapped flopped this year so bad. Like where are the music cities, the playlists, the top genres or the listening auras… all that wait for WHAT?"
From Salon โ Dec. 4, 2024
Mr Bravo-Hibberd had experienced personality changes for at least a year and suffered from headaches, taste auras and confusion for about two weeks prior to his diagnosis.
From BBC โ Dec. 7, 2023
While writing a note to a source about the timing for an interview, my bot randomly suggested asking him whether we should coordinate our outfits in advance so that our auras and chakras wouldn’t clash.
From New York Times โ May 7, 2023
Even the ghosts looked better—with fancier armor and shinier auras.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ยฉ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritageยฎ Idioms Dictionary copyright ยฉ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
