Syn. — To draw; allure; invite; entice; influence.
Attract
(At*tract"), n. Attraction. [Obs.] Hudibras.
Attractability
(At*tract`a*bil"i*ty) n. The quality or fact of being attractable. Sir W. Jones.
Attractable
(At*tract"a*ble) a. Capable of being attracted; subject to attraction. — At*tract"a*ble*ness,
n.
Attracter
(At*tract"er) n. One who, or that which, attracts.
Attractile
(At*tract"ile) a. Having power to attract.
Attracting
(At*tract"ing), a. That attracts. - - At*tract"ing*ly, adv.
Attraction
(At*trac"tion) n. [L. attractio: cf. F. attraction.]
1. (Physics) An invisible power in a body by which it draws anything to itself; the power in nature acting
mutually between bodies or ultimate particles, tending to draw them together, or to produce their cohesion
or combination, and conversely resisting separation.
Attraction is exerted at both sensible and insensible distances, and is variously denominated according
to its qualities or phenomena. Under attraction at sensible distances, there are, —
(1.)
Attraction of gravitation, which acts at all distances throughout the universe, with a force proportional
directly to the product of the masses of the bodies and inversely to the square of their distances apart.
(2.)
Magnetic, diamagnetic, and electrical attraction, each of which is limited in its sensible range
and is polar in its action, a property dependent on the quality or condition of matter, and not on its
quantity.
Under attraction at insensible distances, there are, —
(1.)
Adhesive attraction, attraction between surfaces of sensible extent, or by the medium of an intervening
substance.
(2.)
Cohesive attraction, attraction between ultimate particles, whether like or unlike, and causing
simply an aggregation or a union of those particles, as in the absorption of gases by charcoal, or of
oxygen by spongy platinum, or the process of solidification or crystallization. The power in adhesive
attraction is strictly the same as that of cohesion.
(3.)
Capillary attraction, attraction causing a liquid to rise, in capillary tubes or interstices, above its
level outside, as in very small glass tubes, or a sponge, or any porous substance, when one end is inserted
in the liquid. It is a special case of cohesive attraction.
(4.)
Chemical attraction, or affinity, that peculiar force which causes elementary atoms, or groups of
atoms, to unite to form molecules.
2. The act or property of attracting; the effect of the power or operation of attraction. Newton.
3. The power or act of alluring, drawing to, inviting, or engaging; an attractive quality; as, the attraction of
beauty or eloquence.
4. That which attracts; an attractive object or feature.
Syn. — Allurement; enticement; charm.
