An aura is a distinctive quality or atmosphere that seems to surround a person or place. When someone has a confident aura, you can sense their self-assurance even before they speak. A library might have a quiet, studious aura that makes you want to whisper. An old castle could have a mysterious aura that gives you goosebumps.

You might notice that a championship team has an aura of success, or that a kind teacher has a warm, welcoming aura that puts nervous students at ease.

Scientists sometimes use aura more specifically. Some people experience an aura before a migraine headache: they might see flashing lights or feel strange sensations that warn them the headache is coming. In this medical sense, an aura is a physical warning sign.

People also talk about auras in mystical or spiritual contexts, claiming to see colored energy fields around people, though this idea isn't scientifically proven. In everyday conversation, though, aura simply describes that intangible feeling or impression someone or something gives off, like: “The abandoned house had an eerie aura” or “She walked in with an aura of determination.”