Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Attention
At-ten′tion
,Noun.
[L.
attentio
: cf. F. attention
.] 1.
The act or state of attending or heeding; the application of the mind to any object of sense, representation, or thought; notice; exclusive or special consideration; earnest consideration, thought, or regard; obedient or affectionate heed; the supposed power or faculty of attending.
They say the tongues of dying men
Enforce
Enforce
attention
like deep harmony. Shakespeare
☞ Attention is consciousness and something more. It is consciousness voluntarily applied, under its law of limitations, to some determinate object; it is consciousness concentrated.
Sir W. Hamilton.
2.
An act of civility or courtesy; care for the comfort and pleasure of others;
as,
. attentions
paid to a strangerTo pay attention to
, To pay one’s attentions to
to be courteous or attentive to; to wait upon as a lover; to court.
Syn. – Care; heed; study; consideration; application; advertence; respect; regard.
Webster 1828 Edition
Attention
ATTEN'TION
,Noun.
1.
The act of attending or heeding; the due application of the ear to sounds, or of the mind to objects presented to its contemplation. [Literally, a stretching towards.They say the tongues of dying men
Enforce attention like deep harmony.
2.
Act of civility, or courtesy; as attention to a stranger.Definition 2024
attention
attention
English
Noun
attention (usually uncountable, plural attentions)
- (uncountable) Mental focus.
- Please direct your attention to the following words.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
- In the old days, to my commonplace and unobserving mind, he gave no evidences of genius whatsoever. He never read me any of his manuscripts, […], and therefore my lack of detection of his promise may in some degree be pardoned. But he had then none of the oddities and mannerisms which I hold to be inseparable from genius, and which struck my attention in after days when I came in contact with the Celebrity.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 3, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.
- 2012 March 1, William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter, “The British Longitude Act Reconsidered”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 87:
- But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.
- (countable) An action or remark expressing concern for or interest in someone or something, especially romantic interest.
- 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, ch. 3,
- She attended her sickbed; her watchful attentions triumphed over the malignity of the distemper.
- 1910, Stephen Leacock, "How to Avoid Getting Married," in Literary Lapses,
- For some time past I have been the recipient of very marked attentions from a young lady.
- 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, ch. 3,
- (uncountable, military) A state of alertness in the standing position.
- The company will now come to attention.
Derived terms
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Related terms
Translations
mental focus
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romantic interest
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state of alertness in the standing position
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Interjection
attention
Translations
military command
Statistics
Most common English words before 1923: single · foot · beauty · #618: attention · standing · books · knows
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /a.tɑ̃s.jɔ̃/
Noun
attention f (plural attentions)
- attention, (mental focus)
- vigilance
- attention (concern for or interest in)
- consideration, thoughtfulness
Interjection
attention