What does attentive mean?
Word: Attentive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Attentive means watching and listening carefully to what is happening. It can also mean caring about what other people need.
Synonyms: alert, watchful, careful
How do you spell attentive?
Syllables: at - ten - tive
Tricky part: The t is doubled at the start; atentive is the usual slip.
Watch out for: atentive, atenttive
Memory tip: Attack and attach share the start of attentive: an a, then two t's.
Attentive in a sentence
Example 1: Be attentive when the teacher explains the experiment.
Example 2: Our attentive neighbour noticed that our cat was stuck on the shed roof and helped her down.
Example 3: The nurse was attentive to every patient on the ward.
Fun Fact
Attentive comes from a Latin verb meaning 'to stretch towards', as if your mind reaches out to what you are watching.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: attentive
a) gentle
b) careless
c) honest
d) curious
Show answer
b) careless. A careless person does not pay attention, unlike an attentive one.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
attent_v_
a) e, e
b) i, a
c) i, e
d) a, e
Show answer
c) i, e. The ending is ive, the same as in active and creative.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) curteous
b) obediant
c) attentive
d) sencible
Show answer
c) attentive. Obedient ends in ent, courteous starts with cour and sensible needs an s in the middle; attentive is right as written.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our attantive class monitor spotted the leaking tap before anyone else.
a) monitor
b) attantive
c) spotted
d) leaking
Show answer
b) attantive. The vowel straight after the double t is e, not a.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. 'Riya is attentive to her baby brother.' This means Riya ____.
a) takes good care of his needs
b) is a little afraid of him
c) plays loud music near him
d) ignores him most of the day
Show answer
a) takes good care of his needs
2. Which pupil is being attentive in the science lesson?
a) Bilal, who is drawing cartoons in his rough book
b) Chitra, who is whispering to her best friend
c) Anu, who notes down each step of the experiment
d) Dev, who is packing his school bag early
Show answer
c) Anu, who notes down each step of the experiment
