at·trac·tive

[uh-trak-tiv]
adjective
1.
providing pleasure or delight, especially in appearance or manner; pleasing; charming; alluring: an attractive personality.
2.
arousing interest or engaging one's thought, consideration, etc.: an attractive idea; an attractive price.
3.
having the quality of attracting.

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English attractif (< Middle French) < Late Latin attractīvus of a medicine with drawing power. See attract, -ive

at·trac·tive·ly, adverb
at·trac·tive·ness, noun
su·per·at·trac·tive, adjective
su·per·at·trac·tive·ly, adverb
su·per·at·trac·tive·ness, noun
un·at·trac·tive, adjective
un·at·trac·tive·ly, adverb
un·at·trac·tive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To unattractive
00:10
Unattractive is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Collins
World English Dictionary
attractive (əˈtræktɪv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  appealing to the senses or mind through beauty, form, character, etc
2.  arousing interest: an attractive opportunity
3.  possessing the ability to draw or pull: an attractive force
 
at'tractively
 
adv
 
at'tractiveness
 
n

unattractive (ˌʌnəˈtræktɪv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  not appealing to the senses or mind through beauty, form, character, etc
2.  not arousing interest: an unattractive proposition

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

attractive
1530s, "absorptive," from Fr. attractif (14c.), from attract- (see attract). Meaning "having the quality of drawing people's eye or interest" is from 1580s; sense of "pleasing, alluring" is from c.1600.

unattractive
1775, from un- (1) "not" + attractive (see attract).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
In one, she had adults rate photos of human faces on a spectrum from attractive
  to unattractive.
However, peeling can appear unattractive, and you may have the urge to pull the
  skin.
So on your theory that kind of diet could be expected to produce an
  unattractive smell.
Even so, the high tax bill that would be triggered by a break-up could make
  this an unattractive option.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT