The complicated set of thoughts and feelings that evoke one into having a likeness, desire or interest in something.

In relationships, this can be typically broken down into sexual, romantic and emotional attractions. Typically, these three things are aligned, but not always – and breaking down the attractions can be complicated.

For example, an individual may be sexually attracted to more than one gender (bisexual) but only romantically attracted to one (e.g. homoromantic, heteroromantic). Further, someone’s emotional attractions may not be the same as their romantic ones.

Human relationships, and therefore their attractions, are complex; as too, can defining the various kinds of intimacy that form attractions. One can be intimate on sexual, romantic and emotional levels that may share many features, but also be completely distinct from one another – sexual intimacy may share many features to emotional intimacy, but not all forms of emotional intimacy have sexual elements, similarly not all features of emotional intimacy have romantic elements. Similarly; sexual intimacy or attraction does not necessarily require emotional or romantic intimacy or even attraction.

You can, on a basic level, be emotionally or romantically attracted to someone without being sexually attracted to them, as you can be sexually attracted to someone without being emotionally or romantically attracted to them.