attractiveness

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at·trac·tive

(ə-trăk′tĭv)

adj.

1. Pleasing to the senses or mind, as by being beautiful: plants with attractive flowers; an attractive painting.

2. Interesting because of the likelihood of being advantageous or profitable: an attractive business deal.

3. Having the power to attract: the attractive force of gravity.

at·trac′tive·ly adv.

at·trac′tive·ness n.

at·trac·tiv′i·ty n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Attractiveness

Adorable as a baby —Anon
Babies have long been linked with adjectives that equate appealing (or peaceful) qualities. This commonly used form may have its origins in Swinburne’s “Adorable as is nothing save a child.”
Alluring as a ripe peach —Guy de Maupassant
Appealing as power to a politician —Anon
Appealing as something for nothing —Anon
Appealing as sunlight after a storm —Anon
An appeal shone from her as light from a twisted filament —John Updike
As likable as a jaguar —William Beechcroft
Charm is almost as poor a butter for parsnips as good intentions —Heywood Broun
Charm rolled off him like a halo off an angel —James Kirkwood
In the television movie adaptation of Kirkwood’s There Must Be a Pony the character played by Elizabeth Taylor uses this simile to characterize the man played by Robert Wagner.
Cute as a bug’s ear —Bobbie Ann Mason
Dazzle like an impressionistic painting in which every brush stroke tells and contains something germane to the whole —V. S. Pritchett on George Meredith
Decorative as the scalps of an Indian brave —Frank Swinnerton
(The novel is often as) disarming as a work of folk art —Bethami Probst, New York Times Book Review, April 12, 1987
Have all the charm of a black widow —Pia Lindstrom, television movie review, 1986
Interesting, like a plot in the mystery books —Louise Erdrich
Inviting as a down comforter —Anon
Look like something that ought to be eaten for dessert —Irwin Shaw
More alluring than an invitation to visit rich and charming friends on the Côte d’Or —Ogden Nash
Seductive as Cleopatra —Louis Bromfield
She’s like a mound of nectarines —Saul Bellow
Unappealing as a meringue with hardly any crust —Anon

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Noun	1.	attractiveness - the quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts; "her personality held a strange attraction for him" attraction affinity - a natural attraction or feeling of kinship; "an affinity for politics"; "the mysterious affinity between them"; "James's affinity with Sam" allure, temptingness, allurement - 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; "he held the children spellbound with magic tricks and other fascinations" lure, come-on, enticement - qualities that attract by seeming to promise some kind of reward sexual attraction - attractiveness on the basis of sexual desire showstopper, show-stopper - something that is strikingly attractive or has great popular appeal; "she has a show-stopper of a smile"; "the brilliant orange flowers against the green foliage were a showstopper" quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare
	2.	attractiveness - sexual allure beauty - the qualities that give pleasure to the senses adorability, adorableness - extreme attractiveness animal magnetism, beguilement, bewitchery - magnetic personal charm charisma, personal appeal, personal magnetism - a personal attractiveness or interestingness that enables you to influence others oomph, sex appeal, desirability, desirableness - attractiveness to the opposite sex appealingness, charm, appeal - attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates; "his smile was part of his appeal to her" spiff - attractiveness in appearance or dress or manner; "he gets by largely on pure spiff" unattractiveness - an ugliness of appearance that is not appealing to viewers

attractiveness

noun

1. seductiveness, appeal, beauty, charm, good looks, fairness, allure, magnetism, desirability, loveliness, prettiness, gorgeousness, handsomeness, pulchritude (formal or literary), winsomeness, comeliness, engagingness, glamorousness or glamourousness, likableness or likeableness, prepossessingness, takingness, winningness Physical attractiveness can play a major part in how we react to people.
seductiveness ugliness, unsightliness, unbecomingness

2. appeal, magnetism, pleasantness, agreeableness, agreeability, enticingness, pleasingness The forest enhances the attractiveness of the region.
appeal unpleasantness, offensiveness, repulsiveness, disagreeableness, distastefulness, disagreeability

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

attractiveness

noun

The power or quality of attracting:

allure, allurement, appeal, attraction, call, charisma, charm, draw, enchantment, enticement, fascination, glamour, lure, magnetism, witchery.

Informal: pull.

Translations

جاذِبِيَّه، فِتْنَه

přitažlivostpůvab

fordelfordelagtighed

Attraktivität Reiz

attrait

aîdráttarafl, òokki

attrattiva avvenenza

привлекательность

alımçekicilikgüzellik

吸引力

attractiveness

[əˈtræktɪvnɪs] N [of person, place, voice, price, offer] → lo atractivo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

attractiveness

[əˈtræktɪvnɪs] n

(= pleasant appearance) [place, region] → charme m; [person] → beauté f, charme m

(= appeal) [scheme, project, price] → attrait m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

attractiveness

n → Attraktivität f; (of house, furnishing, view etc) → Reiz m; the attractiveness of her appearance → ihr reizvolles or ansprechendes or anziehendes Äußeres; the attractiveness of the melody → die ansprechende Melodie

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

attractiveness

[əˈtræktɪvnɪs] n (of proposition, offer) → attrattiva; (of voice, person) → fascino

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

attract

(əˈtrӕkt) verb

1. to cause (someone or something) to come towards. A magnet attracts iron; I tried to attract her attention.

2. to arouse (someone's) liking or interest. She attracted all the young men in the neighbourhood.

atˈtraction (-ʃən) noun

1. the act or power of attracting. magnetic attraction.

2. something that attracts. The attractions of the hotel include a golf-course.

atˈtractive (-tiv) adjective

1. pleasant and good- looking. an attractive girl; young and attractive.

2. likeable; tempting. an attractive personality; He found the proposition attractive.

atˈtractively adverb

atˈtractiveness noun

References in classic literature ?

They thought it amusing at first, but the occupation soon lost its attractiveness when they discovered that it was not a game arranged especially for their entertainment.

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But all the estuaries of great rivers have their fascination, the attractiveness of an open portal.

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it seemed to add somehow to the attractiveness of her face.

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An ugly, thickly populated neighborhood, whose area of twinkling lights seemed to reach almost to the murky skies; hideous, indeed by day, not altogether devoid now of a certain weird attractiveness by reason of low-hung stars.

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Her eyes sparkled, and her rosy lips could not keep from smiling from the consciousness of her own attractiveness. She had scarcely entered the ballroom and reached the throng of ladies, all tulle, ribbons, lace, and flowers, waiting to be asked to dance--Kitty was never one of that throng--when she was asked for a waltz, and asked by the best partner, the first star in the hierarchy of the ballroom, a renowned director of dances, a married man, handsome and well-built, Yegorushka Korsunsky.

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All the light and graceful foliage of her character had been withered up by this red-hot brand, and had long ago fallen away, leaving a bare and harsh outline, which might have been repulsive had she possessed friends or companions to be repelled by it Even the attractiveness of her person had undergone a similar change.

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Among the difficulties of her lonely position not the least was the attention she excited by her appearance, a certain bearing of distinction, which she had caught from Clare, being superadded to her natural attractiveness. Whilst the clothes lasted which had been prepared for her marriage, these casual glances of interest caused her no inconvenience, but as soon as she was compelled to don the wrapper of a fieldwoman, rude words were addressed to her more than once; but nothing occurred to cause her bodily fear till a particular November afternoon.

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A great feature of Como's attractiveness is the multitude of pretty houses and gardens that cluster upon its shores and on its mountain sides.

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Returning from this digression to our main topic, namely, the criticism of "consciousness," we observe that Freud and his followers, though they have demonstrated beyond dispute the immense importance of "unconscious" desires in determining our actions and beliefs, have not attempted the task of telling us what an "unconscious" desire actually is, and have thus invested their doctrine with an air of mystery and mythology which forms a large part of its popular attractiveness. They speak always as though it were more normal for a desire to be conscious, and as though a positive cause had to be assigned for its being unconscious.

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As for dear little Lucy herself, her late benevolent triumph about the Mill, and all the affectionate projects she was cherishing for Maggie and Philip, helped to give her the highest spirits to-day, and she felt nothing but pleasure in the evidence of Maggie's attractiveness. It is true, she was looking very charming herself, and Stephen was paying her the utmost attention on this public occasion; jealously buying up the articles he had seen under her fingers in the process of making, and gayly helping her to cajole the male customers into the purchase of the most effeminate futilities.

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I am sure most people would have thought him an ugly man; yet there was so much unconscious pride in his port; so much ease in his demeanour; such a look of complete indifference to his own external appearance; so haughty a reliance on the power of other qualities, intrinsic or adventitious, to atone for the lack of mere personal attractiveness, that, in looking at him, one inevitably shared the indifference, and, even in a blind, imperfect sense, put faith in the confidence.

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(namely, Gania's attractiveness for Nastasia Philipovna), stood out more and more prominently; the pourparlers had commenced, and gradually even Totski began to believe in the possibility of success.