<B>attention, </B>noun, interjection.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the act of attending; heed. <BR> <I>Ex. The children paid attention to the teacher's explanation.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the power of attending; notice. <BR> <I>Ex. He called my attention to the cat trying to catch the mouse.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>care and thought; consideration. <BR> <I>Ex. The girl showed her grandmother much attention. Your letter will receive early attention.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>a military attitude of readiness; a steady, erect posture prescribed and assumed in readiness for future orders. <BR> <I>Ex. The soldier came to attention when the officer addressed him. The private stood at attention during inspection.</I> <DD><I>interj. </I> a command to come to attention. <BR><I>expr. <B>attentions,</B> </I>acts of courtesy or devotion, especially of a suitor. <BR> <I>Ex. The pretty girl received many attentions, such as presents of candy and flowers, and invitations to parties.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="attentional">
<B>attentional, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Psychology.) having to do with attention as a factor in learning. </DL>
<A NAME="attentiondeficitdisorder">
<B>attention deficit disorder,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a neurological or psychological disorder of children, characterized by excessive restlessness and an inability to concentrate on a single subject or activity; hyperactivity. <BR> <I>Ex. The use of Ritalin and other stimulants to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD), commonly called hyperactivity, ... has been a controversial issue (Jenny Tesar).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="attentiongetting">
<B>attention-getting, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> attracting attention; conspicuous. <BR> <I>Ex. Wall space was converted to selling space by the use of big blocks of attention-getting color (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="attentisme">
<B>attentisme, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) a policy of watchfulness and opportunism; wait-and-see position or attitude. <BR> <I>Ex. Like many other Indochinese they [the Vietnamese] chose attentisme. ... They would join the side that won in the end (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="attentiste">
<B>attentiste, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (French.) a person who practices attentisme. </DL>
<A NAME="attentive">
<B>attentive, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>paying attention; observant. <BR> <I>Ex. The attentive pupil is most likely to learn.</I> (SYN) heedful, mindful. <DD><B> 2. </B>courteous; polite. <BR> <I>Ex. The well-mannered girl was attentive to her mother's guests.</I> (SYN) considerate, thoughtful. <DD><B> 3. </B>paying the attentions of a lover; courting. adv. <B>attentively.</B> noun <B>attentiveness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="attenuable">
<B>attenuable, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that can be attenuated. </DL>
<A NAME="attenuant">
<B>attenuant, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> attenuating; making thin, as fluids. <DD><I>noun </I> a medicine that thins the fluids of the body. </DL>
<A NAME="attenuate">
<B>attenuate, </B>verb, <B>-ated,</B> <B>-ating,</B> adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to weaken in force, amount, or value; reduce. <BR> <I>Ex. The authority of kings has been attenuated in modern times.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Bacteriology.) to make (microorganisms or viruses) less virulent. <BR> <I>Ex. Former vaccines against anthrax, dating back to the time of Pasteur, were made from attenuated, or weakened, spores of the anthrax germs (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to make thin or slender. <BR> <I>Ex. He was attenuated by hunger.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to make less dense; dilute. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to become thin or slender. <BR> <I>Ex. An earthworm's body alternately attenuates and thickens as it crawls.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>slender; thin. <DD><B> 2. </B>thin in consistency. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Botany.) gradually tapering. noun <B>attenuation.</B> noun <B>attenuator.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="attest">
<B>attest, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to give proof of; certify. <BR> <I>Ex. The child's good health attests his mother's care. The high quality of your performance attests your ability.</I> (SYN) prove, confirm, manifest. <DD><B> 2. </B>to bear witness to; testify to. <BR> <I>Ex. Thehandwriting expert attested the genuineness of the signature.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to put (a person) on his oath. <DD><B> 4. </B>(British.) to administer the oath of allegiance to (a recruit). <DD><I>v.i. </I> to bear witness (to); testify (to) the truth or genuineness of anything. <BR> <I>Ex. Several witnesses attest to this agreement.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> (Archaic.) evidence; testimony. noun <B>attester,</B> <B>attestor.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="attestant">
<B>attestant, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> that attests. <DD><I>noun </I> a person who attests. </DL>
<A NAME="attestation">
<B>attestation, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of attesting. <DD><B> 2. </B>proof or evidence. <DD><B> 3. </B>formal testimony. </DL>
<A NAME="attestative">
<B>attestative, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of the nature of or having to do with attestation. </DL>
<A NAME="attic">
<B>attic, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the space in a house just below the roof and above the other rooms; garret. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Architecture.) a low story above an entablature or the main cornice of a building. </DL>
<A NAME="attic">
<B>Attic, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1a. </B>of Attica, a region of Greece famous in ancient times for its chief city, Athens, and as a center of literature and art. <DD><B> b. </B>of Athens; Athenian. <DD><B> 2. </B>characterized by simple and refined elegance; classical. <BR> <I>Ex. Addison's prose is Attic prose (Matthew Arnold).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a native of Attica. <DD><B> 2. </B>the ancient Greek dialect of Attica, the language of Plato, Sophocles, Euripides, and Pericles. </DL>
<B>Atticism</B> or <B>atticism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a style or idiom of Attic Greek. <DD><B> 2. </B>an elegant expression or turn of speech. <DD><B> 3. </B>sympathy with Athens. </DL>
<A NAME="atticist">
<B>Atticist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who affects Attic style. </DL>
<A NAME="atticize">
<B>Atticize</B> or <B>atticize, </B>verb, <B>-cized,</B> <B>-cizing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to use Attic usages or idioms. <DD><B> 2. </B>to sympathize with Athens. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make conformable with Attic usage. </DL>
<A NAME="atticsalt">
<B>Attic salt</B> or <B>wit,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> dry, delicate, and pungent wit. </DL>
<A NAME="attine">
<B>attine, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with a genus of leaf-cutting ants that attack crops. <DD><I>noun </I> any ant of this genus. <BR> <I>Ex. The ants, called attines, inhabit an area extending from Argentina to the southern United States (Science Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="attire">
<B>attire, </B>noun, verb, <B>-tired,</B> <B>-tiring.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>clothing or dress; array. <BR> <I>Ex. The queen wore rich attire to her coronation. (Figurative.) Earth in her rich attire ... (Milton).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Heraldry.) the antlers of a stag. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to clothe or dress; array; adorn. <BR> <I>Ex. She was attired in a cloak trimmed with ermine. His shoulders large a mantle did attire (John Dryden).</I> noun <B>attirer.</B> </DL>
<B>attitude, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a way of thinking, acting, or feeling; feeling, manner, or behavior of a person toward a situation or cause. <BR> <I>Ex. As the work became more familiar, his attitude toward school changed from dislike to great enthusiasm.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a position of the body suggesting an action, purpose, emotion, or mental state. Standing, sitting, lying, and stooping are attitudes. <BR> <I>Ex. He raised his fists in the attitude of a boxer ready to fight.</I> (SYN) posture, pose. <DD><B> 3. </B>the position of an aircraft, spacecraft, or other object in flight, in relation to some reference line or plane, such as the horizon or the horizontal. <BR> <I>Ex. In a banking attitude, an airplane dips one of its wings.</I> <DD><B> 4a. </B>a ballet pose in which the dancer extends one leg backward with knee bent and the corresponding arm raised. <DD><B> b. </B>any dramatic pose intended to convey an emotion, often humorously exaggerated. <BR> <I>Ex. an attitude of mock despair.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>an arrogant manner or hostile feeling toward a person, situation, or cause. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative) houses with attitude that look as if they are sprawled out on lounge chairs (New York Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>strike an attitude,</B> </I>to pose for effect; assume a pose in a theatrical manner, and not as the natural expression of feeling. <BR> <I>Ex. You will find him ... striking pious attitudes at every new object of reverence (James Gilmour).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="attitudinal">
<B>attitudinal, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with attitude. </DL>
<A NAME="attitudinize">
<B>attitudinize, </B>intransitive verb, <B>-nized,</B> <B>-nizing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> to assume attitudes; pose for effect. <BR> <I>Ex. (Figurative.) In every line that he wrote Cicero was attitudinizing for posterity (James Anthony Froude).</I> noun <B>attitudinizer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="attn">
<B>attn.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> attention. </DL>
<A NAME="atto">
<B>atto-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) one quintillionth (10 to the power of minus 18) of a ______. <BR> <I>Ex. Attofarad = one quintillionth of a farad.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="attorn">
<B>attorn,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Law.) <DD><I>v.t. </I> to assign to another; transfer. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to acknowledge the relation of tenant to a new landlord. <DD><B> 2. </B>to transfer homage and service to a new feudal lord. noun <B>attornment.</B> </DL>
