attraction

noun

uh-TRAK-shuhn/əˈtɹækʃn̩/

6 meanings of attraction

1
nouncountable
A place, event, or business that many people want to visit.
The new water park is the biggest attraction in our town.
We visited several attractions during our trip to the city.
Similardraw, sight, highlight, landmark, magnet
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountable
A strong feeling of liking someone in a romantic or sexual way.
She felt a strong attraction to him the first time they met.
Many people feel attraction to partners who share their sense of humor.
Similarchemistry, desire, infatuation, passion
Oppositerepulsion, aversion
Note
3
nouncountable or uncountable
The feeling of being pulled toward something you like or want.
Like the way a magnet pulls a paperclip toward it, but as a feeling inside you.
Her attraction to bright colors shows in every room of her house.
He felt a growing attraction to the quiet life of a small town.
Similarfascination, liking, affinity, penchant, interest
Oppositeaversion, repulsion, dislike, distaste
4
nouncountable or uncountable
The power something has to pull other things toward it.
A magnet's attraction can pull a nail across the table.
The attraction between the Earth and the Moon keeps the Moon on its path.
Similarpull, draw, magnetism
Oppositerepulsion
Note
5
nouncountable or uncountable
In chess, giving up pieces on purpose to pull the other player's king into danger.
Like putting out food so an animal walks into a trap.
He won the game with attraction, giving up his queen to drag the king forward.
Attraction works best when the enemy king has nowhere safe to run.
Note
6
nouncountable or uncountable
A grammar mistake where a word copies something from the wrong word near it, like a verb matching the wrong noun.
Like catching a yawn from the person sitting next to you.
Attraction explains why people often say 'the list of names are long.'
Her teacher pointed out attraction in the essay, where a verb matched the closest noun instead of the subject.
Note

Practice

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Origin

It came from Latin, from a word meaning to draw or pull toward. English took it through Old French.