attraction

/əˈtɹækʃn̩/

//əˈtɹækʃn̩// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"attraction" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“attraction” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,937. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,937
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The tendency to attract.

Corpus desk

Index EN-attraction · attraction · English

attraction · rank #5,937 · 14 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,937
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH athlete

Nearest frequency peer: athlete (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “attraction”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “attraction” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

attraction vs attrition
80% similar
attraction vs attractive
80% similar
attraction vs abstraction
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for attraction
PropertyValue
Headwordattraction
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈtɹækʃn̩/
Letters10
Frequency rank#5,937
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “attraction”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).attractionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “athlete” (#5,936), “babe” (#5,938), “Ashley” (#5,935). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “attraction” is #5,937. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around attraction (IPA /əˈtɹækʃn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,937 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for attraction, with forms such as "atraction", "atrtaction", and "attarction". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "attrition", "attractive", "abstraction", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ-der.? Latin trahō Latin attrahō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin attractiōder. Old French attractionbor. Middl… The correct English form is attraction, spelled A-T-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The tendency to attract.
  2. 2
    The feeling of being attracted (to something).
  3. 3
    The feeling of being attracted (to something).
  4. 4
    An event, location, or business that has a tendency to draw interest from visitors, and in many cases, local residents.
  5. 5
    The sacrifice of pieces in order to expose the enemy king.
  6. 6
    An error in language production that incorrectly extends a feature from one word in a sentence to another, e.g. when a verb agrees with a noun other than its subject.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how attraction appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The Moon is held in its orbit by the attraction of the Earth's gravity.
  2. I felt a strange attraction towards the place.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ-der.? Latin trahō Latin attrahō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin attractiōder. Old French attractionbor. Middle English attraccioun English attraction From Middle English attraccioun, from Old French attraction, from Latin attractio from past participle of attrahō (= ad + trahō), equivalent to attract + -ion.

Synonyms

charmpull

Antonyms

repulsion

This word in other languages

atracción(Español)attraction(Français)Anziehung(Deutsch)atração(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atraction
  • atrtaction
  • attarction
  • attracction
  • attraciton
  • attracsion
  • attractino
  • attractionn
  • attractoin
  • attracttion
  • attratcion
  • attrcation
  • attrraction
  • tatraction

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of attraction - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

atraction1atrtaction2attarction2attracction1attraciton2attracsion1attractino2attractionn1
Edit distance from "attraction"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "attraction"?
"attraction" is spelled A-T-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈtɹækʃn̩/.
What does "attraction" mean?
As a noun, "attraction" means: The tendency to attract.
What words are commonly confused with "attraction"?
"attraction" is commonly confused with "attrition", "attractive", "abstraction". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "attraction"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "attraction" is /əˈtɹækʃn̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "attraction"?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Proto-Italic *ad- Latin ad- Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ-der.? Latin trahō Latin attrahō Proto-Indo-European *-tisder. Proto-Italic *-tjō Latin -tiō Latin attractiōder. Old French attraction... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "attraction", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bankruptcy#5,939diplomatic#5,956provisions#5,905preventing#5,903

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

reflected14 variantspredicted14 variantsgoverning14 variantspromising14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list