English Meaning & Definitions
The act or faculty of directing the mind to an object; notice or awareness.
- “The teacher asked the students to pay close attention to the diagram on the board.”
- “The new advertising campaign succeeded in grabbing the public's attention.”
Special care, help, or treatment given to someone or something.
- “The old car needs some urgent mechanical attention.”
- “The injured hiker received immediate medical attention from the rescue team.”
A military command to stand in a formal, upright position with eyes to the front.
- “The sergeant shouted, 'Attention!' as the general entered the barracks.”
- “The soldiers snapped to attention immediately.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “attention”.
Derived from the Old French 'atencion', which comes from the Latin 'attentio(n-)'. This stems from the verb 'attendere', meaning 'to stretch toward', composed of 'ad-' (to) and 'tendere' (to stretch). The original concept suggests the mind stretching toward an object of interest.
Think of 'at-tension'—when you pay attention, your mind is focused and 'at tension' like a pulled string pointing toward a target.
Frequently Asked Questions About “attention”
1. What is the meaning of “attention” in English?
In English, attention (noun) is defined as: “The act or faculty of directing the mind to an object; notice or awareness.”.
2. How do you use “attention” in a sentence?
“The teacher asked the students to pay close attention to the diagram on the board.”
3. What are English synonyms of “attention”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “attention”?
Derived from the Old French 'atencion', which comes from the Latin 'attentio(n-)'. This stems from the verb 'attendere', meaning 'to stretch toward', composed of 'ad-' (to) and 'tendere' (to stretch). The original concept suggests the mind stretching toward an object of interest.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →A measurement of time indicating an instantaneous occurrence or a state where no time has elapsed.
The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.