magnetism

[ mag-ni-tiz-uhm ]

See synonyms for magnetism on Thesaurus.com

noun

the properties of attraction possessed by magnets; the molecular properties common to magnets.
the agency producing magnetic phenomena.

the science dealing with magnetic phenomena.
strong attractive power or charm: Everyone succumbed to the magnetism of his smile.

Origin of magnetism

From the New Latin word magnētismus, dating back to 1610–20. See magnet, -ism

Words Nearby magnetism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use magnetism in a sentence

Geophysicists who study ancient magnetism recreate this process, reheating rock samples in the presence of known magnetic fields and comparing the new alignment of the iron atoms with the orientation of iron atoms before the rock was reheated.
New Study Suggests Moon Lacked a Magnetic Field for Nearly All Its History | John Tarduno | August 8, 2021 | Singularity Hub
Armed with confidence and a 20-something’s magnetism, within months, Kinne had moved to Kansas City, where she took on a married lover.
VANISHED: 6 Unsolved and Baffling Disappearances | Sohini Das Gupta | July 21, 2021 | Ozy
The second coil is there to detect those changes in magnetism — and along the way can very precisely measure the strength of the external field.
A WWII submarine-hunting device helped prove the theory of plate tectonics | Carolyn Gramling | July 2, 2021 | Science News
We’re as susceptible to feminine magnetism as men are, even if the game doesn’t end in bed.
Zola Is a Wild Road Trip Movie That Works Against All Odds | Stephanie Zacharek | June 25, 2021 | Time
The reason physicists have eagerly awaited Fermilab’s new measurement is that the muon’s magnetic moment — essentially the strength of its intrinsic magnetism — encodes a huge amount of information about the universe.
‘Last Hope’ Experiment Finds Evidence for Unknown Particles | Natalie Wolchover | April 7, 2021 | Quanta Magazine

The powerful forces of gravity and magnetism channel matter into huge flattened spinning platters known as accretion disks.
The Black Hole Tango | Matthew R. Francis | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
As the project progressed, I felt a subtle change happening to me, as though I was picking up some of his spiritual magnetism.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More | Gary Wright | September 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
His aura was calm, and his being exuded a subtle spiritual magnetism.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More | Gary Wright | September 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
All-American, with just enough sex appeal to maintain the magnetism.
Are We in the Midst of a Kevin Costner Comeback? | Andrew Romano | January 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
By adolescence she had acquired the remarkable self-assuredness, and personal magnetism, that would define her destiny.
World War II’s Most Glamorous Spy: Christine Granville | Emma Garman | July 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The real experience has a magnetism of its own and will win above mere technicality whenever it has the opportunity.
Expressive Voice Culture | Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Some hidden magnetism burst from him like an aura, and his cold pasty face and light gray eyes flamed into positive beauty.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
She had expected personality, magnetism, as a compensation for nature's external economies.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
For Isabel Otis the genius loci had a more powerful and enduring magnetism than any man or woman she had ever known.
Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
His reputation and his personal magnetism soon began to effect a complete change in his army.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-Pattison

British Dictionary definitions for magnetism

magnetism

/ (ˈmæɡnɪˌtɪzəm) /

noun

the property of attraction displayed by magnets
any of a class of phenomena in which a field of force is caused by a moving electric charge: See also electromagnetism, ferromagnetism, diamagnetism, paramagnetism

the branch of physics concerned with magnetic phenomena
powerful attraction

Derived forms of magnetism

magnetist, noun

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

Scientific definitions for magnetism

magnetism

[ măg′nĭ-tĭz′əm ]

The properties or effects of magnetic fields.
The force produced by a magnetic field. See more at magnetic field.

a closer look

Magnetism is intimately linked with electricity, in that a magnetic field is established whenever electric charges are in motion, as in the flow of electrons in a wire, or the movement of electrons around an atomic nucleus. In atoms, this invisible field consists of closed loops called lines of force that surround and run through the atom. Magnetic regions where lines of force come together densely are called north and south poles. In substances in which the magnetic fields of each atom are aligned, the magnetic field causes the entire substance to act like single magnet-with north and south poles and a surrounding magnetic field. Permanent magnets are made of substances that retain this alignment. If a magnet is cut in two, each piece becomes a separate magnet with two poles. A coil of wire wrapped around an iron core can be made magnetic by running electric current through it; the looping electrons then create a magnetic field in just the same way as the spinning electrons in individual atoms. As long as current flows, the coil remains magnetized. Such magnets, called electromagnets, are used in many devices such as doorbells and switches. The connection between electric and magnetic fields is not one of cause and effect, however. Einstein showed that both the magnetic and electric fields are part of a single electromagnetic field, described by a single mathematical object called a tensor. Observers in different reference frames will not observe the same separate values for electric and magnetic fields, but will observe identical electromagnetic tensors. Whether or not magnetic monopoles (elementary particles carrying an isolated north or south magnetic charge, analogous to positive or negative electric charge) actually exist remains unknown; though they are predicted by some theories, none have been detected.

Cultural definitions for magnetism

magnetism

A fundamental property of some materials (for example, iron) and electrical currents (see also current) by which they are capable of exerting a force on magnets. (See electromagnet, magnet, and magnetic field.)

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