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ATTRACTION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts
Example:
her personality held a strange attraction for him
Synonyms:
attraction; attractiveness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("attraction" is a kind of...):
quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "attraction"):
affinity (a natural attraction or feeling of kinship)
allure; allurement; temptingness (the power to entice or attract through personal charm)
binding (the capacity to attract and hold something)
drawing power (the capacity for attracting people (customers or supporters))
fascination (the capacity to attract intense interest)
come-on; enticement; lure (qualities that attract by seeming to promise some kind of reward)
sexual attraction (attractiveness on the basis of sexual desire)
show-stopper; showstopper (something that is strikingly attractive or has great popular appeal)
Derivation:
attract (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes)
attract (be attractive to)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts
Example:
flowers are an attractor for bees
Synonyms:
attracter; attraction; attractive feature; attractor; magnet
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("attraction" is a kind of...):
characteristic; feature (a prominent attribute or aspect of something)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "attraction"):
tourist attraction (a characteristic that attracts tourists)
attention (a general interest that leads people to want to know more)
Derivation:
attract (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes)
attract (be attractive to)
Sense 3
Meaning:
An entertainment that is offered to the public
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("attraction" is a kind of...):
show (a social event involving a public performance or entertainment)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "attraction"):
travelog; travelogue (a film or illustrated lecture on traveling)
counterattraction (a rival attraction)
Derivation:
attract (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes)
attract (be attractive to)
Sense 4
Meaning:
An entertainer who attracts large audiences
Example:
he was the biggest drawing card they had
Synonyms:
attracter; attraction; attractor; draw; drawing card
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("attraction" is a kind of...):
entertainer (a person who tries to please or amuse)
Derivation:
attract (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes)
Sense 5
Meaning:
The force by which one object attracts another
Synonyms:
attraction; attractive force
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("attraction" is a kind of...):
force ((physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "attraction"):
affinity ((immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody)
bond; chemical bond (an electrical force linking atoms)
gravitation; gravitational attraction; gravitational force; gravity ((physics) the force of attraction between all masses in the universe; especially the attraction of the earth's mass for bodies near its surface)
magnetic attraction; magnetic force; magnetism (attraction for iron; associated with electric currents as well as magnets; characterized by fields of force)
van der Waal's forces (relatively weak attraction between neutral atoms and molecules arising from polarization induced in each particle by the presence of other particles)
Antonym:
repulsion (the force by which bodies repel one another)
Derivation:
attract (exert a force on (a body) causing it to approach or prevent it from moving away)
Context examples:
The material is a mixture of two types of magnetic particles: one for inductive heat, and one with strong magnetic attraction and shape-memory polymers to help lock various shape changes into place.
(Tiny magnetic particles enable new material to bend, twist and grab, National Science Foundation)
Here we were rescued from the limited attractions of the local inn by Mr. Shortman, the representative of the British and Brazilian Trading Company.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Neptune, the planet of love and compassion, is the natural ruler of your fifth house of truelove, the area of the chart known to ignite that first spark of attraction.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
When I had made this discovery, I went back, in an attraction I could not resist, to a lane by Mrs. Steerforth's, and looked over the corner of the garden wall.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
This allele, which encodes small inducible cytokine A3-Like 1 protein, is involved in leukocyte attraction and activation.
(CCL3L1 wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)
Later on, when each developed individuality and became personally conscious of impulsions and desires, the attraction of the light increased.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
I suspect that the real attraction was a large library of fine books, which was left to dust and spiders since Uncle March died.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The event description read, We will all meet up at the Area 51 Alien Center tourist attraction and coordinate our entry.
(Millions don't turn up to 'storm' US airbase for extraterrestrial evidence, Wikinews)
Cell Adhesion involves close adherence (bonding) of a cell to another cell surface or to insoluble material due to physiochemical attraction between molecules on the surfaces of the adjoining bodies in contact.
(Cell Adhesion, NCI Thesaurus)
Fanny's attractions increased—increased twofold; for the sensibility which beautified her complexion and illumined her countenance was an attraction in itself.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
