ATTRACTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does attraction mean? 

• ATTRACTION (noun)
  The noun ATTRACTION has 5 senses:

1. the force by which one object attracts another

2. an entertainment that is offered to the public

3. the quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts

4. a characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts

5. an entertainer who attracts large audiences

  Familiarity information: ATTRACTION used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ATTRACTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The force by which one object attracts another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

attraction; attractive force

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)

Sense 2

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 3

Meaning:

The quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

attraction; attractiveness

Context example:

her personality held a strange attraction for him

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"):

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)

affinity (a natural attraction or feeling of kinship)

Derivation:

attract (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes)

attract (be attractive to)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A characteristic that provides pleasure and attracts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

attracter; attraction; attractive feature; attractor; magnet

Context example:

flowers are an attractor for bees

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"):

attention (a general interest that leads people to want to know more)

tourist attraction (a characteristic that attracts tourists)

Derivation:

attract (direct toward itself or oneself by means of some psychological power or physical attributes)

attract (be attractive to)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An entertainer who attracts large audiences

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

attracter; attraction; attractor; draw; drawing card

Context example:

he was the biggest drawing card they had

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)

 Context examples 

Where could have been the attraction?

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

A team of researchers led by Dr. Anandasankar Ray at University of California, Riverside, set out to determine the neurons and receptors required for attraction to skin odor.

(How mosquitoes detect people, NIH)

The property of remaining in close proximity, as that resulting from the physical attraction of molecules to a substance or the molecular attraction existing between the surfaces of contacting bodies.

(Adhesion, NCI Thesaurus)

I asked her once what was the great attraction of that volume, and she said, "the Rubric."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The attraction between dissimilar exposed charges on two or more molecules.

(Electrostatic Attraction, NCI Thesaurus)

GD3 Binding Interaction involves non-covalent attachment of a molecule through intermolecular physical forces of attraction to a cell surface liposaccharide disialoganglioside, GD3.

(GD3 Binding, NCI Thesaurus)

A depleted bank account had caused me to postpone my holiday, and as to my companion, neither the country nor the sea presented the slightest attraction to him.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The fairness of your friend was an open attraction; her firmness, you know, could only be understood by yourself.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

GD2 Binding Interaction involves non-covalent attachment of a molecule through intermolecular physical forces of attraction to a widely expressed cell surface ganglioside antigen, GD2.

(GD2 Binding, NCI Thesaurus)

Enzyme Interaction involves temporary non-covalent binding, typically through intermolecular physical forces of attraction and spatial complementarity, between a molecular entity and biological molecules, usually proteins, that possess catalytic activity.

(Enzyme Interaction, NCI Thesaurus)