English Explanatory Dictionary

affect

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To influence or alter.
To move to emotion.
Of an illness or condition, to infect or harm (a part of the body).
To dispose or incline.
To tend to by affinity or disposition.
To assign; to appoint.
To burden (property) with a fixed charge or payment, or other condition or restriction.
To feign or pretend.

verb

To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume. To make a false display of.
To aim for, to try to obtain.
To feel affection for (someone); to like, be fond of.
To show a fondness for (something); to choose.

noun

A subjective feeling experienced in response to a thought or other stimulus; mood, emotion, especially as demonstrated in external physical signs.
One's mood or inclination; mental state.
A desire, an appetite.

Pronunciation

ə.fĕkt' /əˈfɛkt/ en-uk-affect.ogg en-au-affect.ogg əfĕkt' ă'fĕkt /ˈæ.fɛkt/

Word forms

affect affects affecting affected no-table-tags glossary affectest affectedst affecteth

Etymology

From Middle English affecten, from Latin affectāre, from Latin affectus, the participle stem of Latin afficere (“to act upon, influence, affect, attack with disease”), from ad- + facere (“to make, do”). By surface analysis, af- + Latin -fect.

Synonyms

alter change have an effect on influence play a role in play a part in move touch attack harm infect fake simulate feign

Related words

affection affectionate affective

Derived words

affectability affectable affectee affectingly affectless affector disaffect interaffect misaffect overaffect reaffect unaffect affected affectedly affectedness affectation affecter affect display flat affect labile affect pseudobulbar affect

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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