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characterized by or giving ; observant:
an attentive audience.
thoughtful of others; considerate; polite; courteous:
an attentive host.
contemporary examples

i also find it kind of hard to believe that the conference and convention industry listens that attentively to the president.
what happens in vegas michael tomasky september 23, 2012

historical examples

her tone struck him; and he watched her attentively, out of the comer of his eyes.
the law inevitable louis couperus

phoebe, looking at her attentively, despaired of getting any nearer the truth from any of them.
good indian b. m. bower

paul, with a very pale face, was seated on the bed, while hortebise was attentively examining his bare shoulder.
the champdoce mystery emile gaboriau

wally, coming again alongside, turned his head, and regarded him attentively.
good indian b. m. bower

a large audience listened most attentively to my morning address.
missionary travels and researches in south africa david livingstone

her visitor, standing quite still, looked at her attentively.
little dorrit charles d-ckens

it lay open, and he had evidently been reading it attentively.
the lost faith t. s. childs

to-day, why she did not know, vere listened to it attentively.
a spirit in prison robert hichens

she wore a dress in which milvain had not yet seen her, and it had the effect of making him regard her attentively.
new grub street george gissing

adjective
paying attention; listening carefully; observant
(postpositive) often foll by to. careful to fulfil the needs or wants (of); considerate (about): she was always attentive to his needs
adj.

late 14c. (implied in attentively), from old french attentif, from vulgar latin -attenditus, from latin attentus “heedful, observant” (see attend). sense of “actively ministering to the needs and wants” (of another person) is from early 16c. related: attentively.