3 syllables: at, tract, ion. Stress on tract.
uh-TRAK-shuhn
/əˈtɹækʃən/
attraction is pronounced uh-TRAK-shuhn (/əˈtɹækʃən/). It has three syllables (at-tract-ion), with the stress on "tract". Attraction refers to the action or power of drawing forth interest or regard, or the forces that cause objects to be pulled toward each other. In common usage, it denotes appeal or charm as well as a phenomenon that pulls bodies toward one another. The term can describe both social magnetism and physical pull in science or everyday life.
Attraction refers to the action or power of drawing forth interest or regard, or the forces that cause objects to be pulled toward each other. In common usage, it denotes appeal or charm as well as a phenomenon that pulls bodies toward one another. The term can describe both social magnetism and physical pull in science or everyday life.
- Misplacing stress on the first syllable (AT-trac-tion) or flattening the second syllable; ensure the primary stress is on the second syllable: /əˈtræk.ʃən/. - Blurring the /tr/ cluster into /d/ or /t/; practice a sharp /t/ plus /r/ blend by tapping the tongue touch quickly and keeping the noise of /r/ separate. - Neglecting the /ʃ/ in the final syllable; make a clear /ʃ/ with the lips rounded slightly and the tongue blade raised toward the palate. - Weak initial syllable; use a neutral, quick /ə/ with proper reduction but do not omit it. - Final vowel? Some speakers reduce /ən/ to /n/; aim for a light schwa plus nasal, not a purely nasal stop. - Breath control: avoid trailing breath between syllables; keep a steady, even pace.
"The city’s nightlife has a strong attraction for tourists."
"There is a natural attraction between the magnets in the experiment."
"Her warm smile had a gentle attraction that put everyone at ease."
You pronounce it as ə-ˈtræk-ʃən in General American, with primary stress on the second syllable. Break it into three syllables: uh-TRAK-shun. The /ə/ is a lazy, schwa-like first vowel, /ˈtræk/ has the open front vowel in the stressed syllable, and the final /ʃən/ combines a voiceless postalveolar approximant with a schwa. Mouth position: start with a relaxed jaw, then move to a firm, slightly rounded lip position for the /tr/ and /ʃ/ sequences. For precise hearing, listen to native speech and match the rhythm: unstressed, stressed, unstressed.
Common errors include misplacing the stress as on the first syllable (AT-trac-tion) and mispronouncing the /tr/ cluster into a simpler /t/ or /dr/ sound. Another frequent slip is softening the /t/ before /r/ or not clearly enunciating the /ʃ/ in the final syllable, leading to /æ-TRAK-shn/ or /æ-TRAK-tion/. Correction: keep the primary stress on the second syllable, produce a clear /tr/ blend by lifting the tongue tip to the alveolar ridge, and pronounce /ʃ/ as a distinct sh sound before the final schwa.
In US English, you’ll hear /əˈtrækʃən/ with a rhotic ending and a clear /æ/ in the stressed syllable. UK English typically has a similar /əˈtrækʃən/ but with less rhoticity in some regional accents and a slightly shorter vowel duration in some cases. Australian English often reduces the final syllable more, sounding like /əˈtrækʃən/ with a non-rhotic or weakly rhotic finale depending on the speaker. The /t/ can feel softer in fast speech, and /ə/ at the start remains a reduced vowel. Emphasize the second syllable in all accents.
The difficulty lies in the three-syllable rhythm with a strong secondary movement around the /tr/ cluster and the /ʃ/ in the final syllable. The unstressed first syllable uses a weak vowel /ə/, which can blur if you don’t relax your jaw. Accurate /ˈtræk/ demands clear vowel height and a precise alveolar-tongue action to avoid blending with a vowel, while /ʃən/ requires a smooth transition from /ʃ/ to a light schwa without adding an extra vowel sound. Practicing the exact sequence helps prevent slipping into /æ-trak-tion/.
A distinctive feature is maintaining the alveolar-tap-like character of the /t/ after the /r/ when the syllable boundary is less clear in rapid speech, which can cause the sound to blur with /d/ or /t/. You can check by isolating the /t/ in /æˈtræk/ and ensuring a crisp release into /ʃ/. Also, ensure the /r/ is not swallowed in non-rhotic accents; in rhotic varieties you’ll hear a light post-vocalic /r/ that subtly colors the preceding vowel.
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- US: /əˈtræk.ʃən/. Rhotic varieties: final /n/ remains, subtle r-coloring is minimal. Vowel in the stressed syllable is clearly /æ/ with precise tongue height and jaw openness. - UK: /əˈtræk.ʃən/. Some speakers may shorten /æ/ slightly and reduce the duration of the first syllable; the /t/ may be clearer but not aspirated too heavily in casual speech. - AU: /əˈtræk.ʃən/ with a more centralized starting vowel for /ə/ and a tendency toward non-rhoticity; the /ɹ/ is not pronounced in most dialects, and the final /ən/ might be weaker. IPA references: US /əˈtræk.ʃən/, UK /əˈtræk.ʃən/, AU /əˈtræk.ʃən/. Focus on keeping the /tr/ cluster crisp and the /ʃ/ sound distinct.
Attraction comes via Middle English attractioun, from Old French attracion, from Latin attrahere, meaning to draw toward. The Latin prefix ad- means toward, with trahere meaning to pull or draw. The sense of drawing or pulling toward was established in Latin through physics and philosophy, then broadened in English to include social and aesthetic appeal. In Middle English, the word appeared in contexts of magnetism and mechanical drawing, gradually acquiring figurative senses such as charm or appeal. By the 17th century, ‘attraction’ referred to forces that drew bodies together, then extended to attractions in social and psychological terms. The modern sense of appeal or magnetism in people emerged in the 18th–19th centuries as a metaphorical expansion of physical pull, with usage in literature and popular science reinforcing both the literal and figurative meanings. First known use in English is attested in late medieval period, with the sense refined through scientific discourse in the Enlightenment and later popular culture. Today, attraction operates as a versatile term across fields—psychology, physics, tourism—while retaining its core notion of drawing toward or appealing to something or someone.
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Words that rhyme with "attraction"
-ion sounds
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