Meaning & use
attention span
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Meaning
nouncountable
The length of time a person can keep their mind on one activity or topic before their concentration fades.
Grammar: Usually singular with a possessive or adjective: a short attention span.
Patterns
- a short attention span
- someone's attention span
Young children have a short attention span, so lessons are broken into small parts.
The video was short because viewers' attention span is limited.
Her attention span improved after she cut back on screen time.
Word forms
| plural | attention spans |
|---|
Common combinations
- short attention span
- He has a short attention span and gets bored quickly.
- long attention span
- Reading novels needs a long attention span.
- limited attention span
- Toddlers have a limited attention span.
- shrinking attention span
- Teachers worry about the shrinking attention span of students.
- hold someone's attention span
- It is hard to hold a teenager's attention span for an hour.
Synonyms and how they differ
- concentration
- Concentration is the act of focusing, while attention span measures how long you can keep it up.
- focus
- Focus is informal and can be momentary, while attention span refers to duration.
- staying power
- Staying power means endurance in general, not only mental attention.
Word family
- attention noun
- mental focus on something
- attentive adjective
- paying close attention
- attentively adverb
- in a focused, careful way
- inattention noun
- a failure to pay attention
Commonly confused: attention span or memory span?
attention span vs memory span
Memory span is how much information you can hold in mind at once, not how long you can stay focused.
Practice
The teacher keeps activities short because the children have a short ___.
Choose one answer.
Attention span is how long someone can concentrate. Life span refers to how long someone lives, which does not explain short activities.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “attention span”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.