attract

English

Etymology

From Latin attractus, past participle of attrahere (“to draw to, attract”), from ad (“to”) + trahere (“to draw”).

Verb

attract (third-person singular simple present attracts, present participle attracting, simple past and past participle attracted)

1. To pull toward without touching

   A magnet attracts iron filings.

2. To arouse interest

   Advertising is designed to attract customers.

3. To make someone feel sexually excited

   His big smile and brown eyes instantly attracted me.

Synonyms

• allure

Antonyms

• repel

Related terms

attraction attractive attractor

Translations

pull without touching

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 吸引 (cmn) (xīyǐn)

• Czech: přitahovat (cs)
• Dutch: aantrekken (nl)
• Finnish: vetää puoleensa (fi)
• French: attirer (fr)
• German: anziehen (de)
• Greek: έλκω (el) (élko)

• Hungarian: vonz (hu)
• Japanese: 引きつける (ja) (ひきつける, hikitsukeru)
• Portuguese: atrair (pt)
• Romanian: atrage (ro)
• Russian: притягивать (ru) (pritjágivat') impf., притянуть (ru) (pritjanút') pf.
• Scottish Gaelic: tarraing (gd)
• Spanish: atraer (es)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can

arouse interest

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 招引 (cmn) (zhāoyǐn), 吸引 (cmn) (xīyǐn)

• Czech: přitahovat (cs)
• Dutch: aandacht trekken (nl)
• Finnish: houkutella (fi)
• Greek: ελκύω (el) (elkýo), προσελκύω (el) (proselkýo)

• Japanese: 引きつける (ja) (ひきつける, hikitsukeru)
• Lithuanian: pritraukti (lt)
• Portuguese: atrair (pt)
• Russian: привлекать (ru) (privlekát') impf., привлечь (ru) (privléč) pf.
• Scottish Gaelic: tarraing (gd)
• Spanish: llamar (es)

cause sexual excitement

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 勾引 (cmn) (gōuyǐn), 引誘 (cmn), 引诱 (cmn) (yǐnyòu)

• Czech: přitahovat (cs)
• Dutch: aantrekken (nl)
• Finnish: viehättää (fi)
• Greek: ελκύω (el) (elkýo), προσελκύω (el) (proselkýo)

• Japanese: 引きつける (ja) (ひきつける, hikitsukeru)
• Portuguese: atrair (pt), excitar (pt)
• Romanian: atrage (ro)
• Russian: привлекать (ru) (privlekát') impf., привлечь (ru) (privléč) pf.
• Scottish Gaelic: tarraing (gd)
• Spanish: atraer (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: جذب (ar) (jádhaba)
• Bulgarian: привличам (bg) (privličam), притеглям (bg) (pritegljam)
• French: attirer (fr)

• German: anziehen (1, 2)
• Korean: 끌다 (ko) (kkeulda)
• Portuguese: atrair (1, 2, 3)
• Telugu: ఆకర్షించు (aakarshinchu) (1, 2, 3)

External links

• attract in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• attract in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• attract at OneLook Dictionary Search