German edit

Etymology edit

Compound of an- (on, at) +‎ ziehen (pull).

To the western German idiom sich etwas anziehen von compare Dutch zich iets aantrekken van.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈantsiːən/
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Verb edit

anziehen (class 2 strong, third-person singular present zieht an, past tense zog an, past participle angezogen, past subjunctive zöge an, auxiliary haben or sein)

  1. Senses related to dressing.
    1. (reflexive, auxiliary haben) to get dressed
      Ich ziehe mich an.I’m getting dressed.
      • 1915 October, Franz Kafka, “Die Verwandlung [The Metamorphosis]”, in Die Weißen Blätter [] [1], volume 2, number 10, Verlag der Weißen Bücher, page 1180:
        Zunächst wollte er ruhig und ungestört aufstehen, sich anziehen und vor allem frühstücken, und dann erst das Weitere überlegen, denn, das merkte er wohl, im Bett würde er mit dem Nachdenken zu keinem vernünftigen Ende kommen.
        To begin with, he wanted to get up calmly and undisturbed, get dressed and, above all, have breakfast, and only then think about everything else, because, as he realized very well, in bed he would not come to a sensible conclusion with the thinking.
    2. (reflexive, auxiliary haben) to dress (in a specific manner)
      Sie zieht sich sehr elegant an.
      She dresses very elegantly.
    3. (transitive, auxiliary haben, often with a reflexive dative) to put on; to dress oneself in
      Ich ziehe (mir) meinen Pulli an.I put on my pullover.
    4. (transitive, auxiliary haben) to dress someone
      Ich ziehe ihn an.I’m dressing him.
    5. (transitive, auxiliary haben, with an additional dative) to dress someone in
      Ich ziehe ihm seine Jacke an.I’m dressing him in his jacket.
  2. (transitive, auxiliary haben) to attract
    Die Stille alter Kirchen hat mich immer angezogen.
    “The quietness of old churches has always attracted me.”
  3. (reflexive, auxiliary haben) to attract one another
    Gegensätze ziehen sich an.Opposites attract one another.
  4. (transitive, auxiliary haben) to absorb (moisture)
  5. (transitive, auxiliary haben) to fasten, tighten (a screw)
    Die Schraube muss fest angezogen werden.The screw must be fastened tight.
  6. (transitive, auxiliary haben) to tighten, pull tight (a belt, a rope)
  7. (transitive, auxiliary haben) to pull (a lever)
    Er zog die Handbremse an.He put on the hand brake.
  8. (transitive, auxiliary haben) to pull lightly
    Zieh die Schublade etwas an, ohne den losen Knopf abzubrechen.
    Pull the drawer a bit without breaking off the loose knob.
  9. (intransitive, of train, carriage) to pull away
  10. (intransitive, auxiliary haben) to speed up; to sprint
    Sie zog noch einmal an und gewann das Rennen.She sped up again and won the race.
  11. (intransitive, of rates, stocks) to climb
    Nach überwundener Krise ziehen die Kurse wieder an.With the crisis overcome, the prices are climbing again.
  12. (reflexive, auxiliary haben, colloquial, regional, western Germany, with an indefinite pronoun and von) to be touched by; to care much about; to have oneself be impressed by; to feel responsible for
    Synonym: (same construction) annehmen
    Da zieh ich mir nix von an.I don’t care much about that.
  13. (intransitive, auxiliary sein) to draw near, to approach, to come close
  14. (transitive, dated) to cite

Conjugation edit

Antonyms edit

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Further reading edit

  • anziehen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • anziehen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • anziehen” in Duden online
  • anziehen” in OpenThesaurus.de

Anagrams edit