attrarre

Definition & meaning

Attrarre means to attract or to draw toward oneself. It can refer to:

• Physical attraction, as in a magnet drawing metal.
• Arousing interest or appealing to someone.
• Attracting attention or bringing people to a place.

Grammar & Word origin

Attrarre is an irregular, transitive verb. It usually takes a direct object: attrae i turisti means “it attracts tourists.”

Its present tense begins attraggo, attrai, attrae; its past participle is attratto. It comes from Latin attrahere, formed from ad- (“toward”) and trahere (“to pull”).

Synonyms & antonyms

• attirare ↗ — “to attract” or “to draw”; very close in meaning and often more common in everyday speech.
• richiamare ↗ — “to draw” or “to call back”; it can emphasize bringing attention or people toward something.
• respingere ↗ — “to repel” or “to turn away,” the opposite of attracting.
• allontanare ↗ — “to move away” or “to drive away”; it emphasizes increasing distance.

Common phrases & collocations

• attrarre l’attenzione ↗ — to attract attention.
• attrarre turisti ↗ — to attract tourists.
• attrarre investimenti ↗ — to attract investment.