aura
noun
Simple meaning
A distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awruhSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɔɹə
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing
figurativewith aboutof
A distinctive atmosphere or quality surrounding or associated with something or someone.
also parapsychology
A supposed emanation from and surrounding a living person or thing, regarded by mystics as consisting of the essence of the individual.
pathology
A sensation (as of a cold breeze or bright light) that precedes the onset of certain disorders such as a migraine attack or epileptic seizure
pathology
A subjective sensation experienced at the onset of a neurological condition, especially a migraine headache or epileptic seizure.
A subtle emanation or exhalation of any substance, such as an aroma or odour.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing
Used this way, aura is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use aura
- “The successful speaker had a confident aura that made everyone listen intently.”noun
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.