aura

Everyday

1. An aura is a special feeling or quality that seems to surround a person or place, like an air of calm, mystery or importance. tree →
2. In pictures and stories, an aura is a soft glow of light around someone or something. tree →
3. (medicine) Some people with migraines or epilepsy get an aura: strange lights, tingles or feelings just before the headache or the fit starts. tree →

In the lessons

In stories it tells the reader how a character or place feels to others: an aura of mystery, power, calm or danger. In art it is the glow around saints or magical beings. Some people believe everyone has a coloured aura that only special people can see; science has found no evidence for this. Phrases: an aura of mystery, an aura of calm, an aura about her.

Examples

• The old house had an aura of mystery. tree →
• The head teacher had an aura of calm, even when the fire alarm went off. tree →
• In the painting, a golden aura glows around the angel. tree →
• The champion walked onto the court with an aura of confidence. tree →
• There was an aura of excitement in the hall before the show. tree →
• Before her migraine starts, Mum sees an aura of flashing zigzags. tree →
• The wizard's staff was surrounded by a blue aura. tree →

Note

Countable: an aura, auras. Use «an»: an aura. Usually «an aura of» + a quality: an aura of mystery. Myth: «aura readers» say people give off coloured light; there is no scientific proof of this. Do not confuse with «oral» (spoken or about the mouth), which sounds a bit similar.