Affection Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of affection ... 1 : a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something : tender attachment : fondness She had a deep affection ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut affection noun SaveWord af·​fec·​tion |\ə-ˈfek-shən \ Definitionofaffection 1 :afeelingoflikingandcaringforsomeoneorsomething:tenderattachment:fondness Shehadadeepaffectionforherparents. 2 :amoderatefeelingoremotion 3a(1) :abodilycondition (2) :disease,malady apulmonaryaffection b :attribute shapeandweightareaffectionsofbodies 4 obsolete :partiality,prejudice 5 :thefeelingaspect(asinpleasure)ofconsciousness 6a :propensity,disposition b archaic :affectationsense1 7 :theactionofaffecting:thestateofbeingaffected 8 :umlautsense2 —usedespeciallyinthegrammaroftheCelticlanguages OtherWordsfromaffection Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym AffectationandAffection MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutaffection OtherWordsfromaffection affectionless \ ə-​ˈfek-​shən-​ləs \ adjective Synonyms&Antonymsforaffection Synonyms attachment, devotedness, devotion, fondness, love, passion Antonyms abomination, hate, hatred, loathing, rancor VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforaffection feeling,emotion,affection,sentiment,passionmeanasubjectiveresponsetoaperson,thing,orsituation.feelingdenotesanypartlymental,partlyphysicalresponsemarkedbypleasure,pain,attraction,orrepulsion;itmaysuggestthemereexistenceofaresponsebutimplynothingaboutthenatureorintensityofit. thefeelingsthatoncemovedmearegone emotioncarriesastrongimplicationofexcitementoragitationbut,likefeeling,encompassesbothpositiveandnegativeresponses. thedramaportraystheemotionsofadolescence affectionappliestofeelingsthatarealsoinclinationsorlikings. amemoirofchildhoodfilledwithaffectionforherfamily sentimentoftenimpliesanemotioninspiredbyanidea. herfeministsentimentsarewellknown passionsuggestsaverypowerfulorcontrollingemotion. revengebecamehisrulingpassion AffectationandAffection Affectationlooksalotlikeamuchmorecommonword,affection.Butthetwoareusedverydifferently. Themorefamiliarword,affection,inmodernusemeans"afeelingoflikingandcaringforsomeoneorsomething,"asin"Theyshowtheirdogalotofaffection." Affectation,ontheotherhand,referstoaformofbehaviorthat'sunnaturaltothepersonengaginginit,andthatismeanttoimpressotherpeople.Aphonyaccentsomeoneusestosoundmoresophisticated,forexample,canbeconsideredanaffectation,ascanpretendingtoknowallaboutsomeobscurebandinordertoseemcool. Thewordsdon'thavemuchincommonintheiruse,buttheirsimilarityinappearanceisnotcoincidence.Bothhavetodowithoneofthetrickiestwordsinthelanguage:affect. Affectisoneofthemostfrequentlylooked-upwordsinthedictionary,primarilybecauseofits regularconfusionwitheffect.Theshortrationalethatyouoftenhearwhenitcomestodistinguishingthetwoisthateffectisusuallyanounandaffectisaverb.Thebreakdownisn'tallthatsimple,however,andwhatmakesthingsevenmoreconfusingisthattherearetwoverbentriesforaffect. Oneaffectentryisforthesensemeaning"toproduceaneffectupon(someone)"or"toactupon(aperson,aperson'smindorfeelings,etc.)soastoeffectaresponse."Thisisthesensethatconnectstoaffection,asin"Wewereaffectedbytheyoungwoman'sheartfeltspeech."Beingaffectedbysomethinginthiswaydoesn'tnecessarilyresultinaffection,butitcan. Theotherverbaffectisdefinedas"tomakeadisplayoflikingorusing:cultivate"or"toputapretenseon:feign."Itisusedwhentalkingaboutthingslikestylesormannerisms,asin"HeaffectedaBritishaccentandtweedylookafterreadingnothingbutSherlockHolmesstoriesformonthsonend." Thetwoverbsaffecttookdifferentetymologicalpathsfromthesameorigin.The"putonapretense"senseofaffectderivesviaMiddleEnglishandAnglo-FrenchfromtheLatinaffectāre,meaning"totrytoaccomplish,striveafter,pretendtohave."Affectāreisaderivativeofafficere,whichmeans"toproduceaneffecton,exertaninfluenceon";theaffectrelatedtoaffectionisfromavariantofafficere. ExamplesofaffectioninaSentence Shehasdeepaffectionforherparents. Heshowsgreataffectionforhisgrandchildren. feelingsofloveandaffection Henowlooksbackonthoseyearswithgreataffection. Shedevelopedadeepaffectionforthatcountryanditspeople. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Althoughtheiron-screenchemistrymirroredtheirreal-lifeaffection,thingsweren’talwayssopicture-perfectoff-screen. — LosAngelesTimes,11Nov.2021 Joeyislikealllovingfathers—overprotectiveandmistrustfulofthenewbeau;thedifferenceisthatSofia’sfathermightliterallymurdertheobjectofheraffection. — DianaAbu-jaber,WashingtonPost,3Nov.2021 FormerBachelorettesTayshiaAdamsandKaitlynBristowewillhosttheshow,whichwillsendYoungandthoseincompetitionforheraffectiontoherhometownofMinnesota. — MarkHeim|[email protected],al,19Oct.2021 Thepairhavebeendatingforseveralmonths,showingtheiraffectionforeachotheratpubliceventsaswellasonKardashian’sInstagrampage. — NBCNews,18Oct.2021 Throughouttheirrelationship,BarkerandKardashianhaven'tshiedawayfromshowingtheiraffectionforoneanotheronsocialmedia. — AllyMauch,PEOPLE.com,13Oct.2021 Kentuckyisn'taloneinitsaffectionforachocolate-peanutbuttercombo. — MaryRamsey,TheCourier-Journal,12Oct.2021 Hullur’senthusiamiscontagious,andhisaffectionforhisnewlineofworkisobvious. — Fortune,7Oct.2021 IrisJohnsonisWednesday,withZackSmithastheobjectofheraffection. — MatthewJ.Palm,orlandosentinel.com,29Sep.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'affection.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofaffection 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense2 HistoryandEtymologyforaffection MiddleEnglishaffeccioun"capacityforfeeling,emotion,desire,love,"borrowedfromAnglo-French,"desire,love,inclination,partiality,"borrowedfromLatinaffectiōn-,affectiō"frameofmind,feeling,feelingofattachment,"fromaffec-(variantstemofafficere"toproduceaneffecton,exertaninfluenceon")+-tiōn-,-tiō,suffixofactionnouns—moreataffectentry1 LearnMoreAboutaffection Shareaffection PosttheDefinitionofaffectiontoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofaffectiononTwitter TimeTravelerforaffection Thefirstknownuseofaffectionwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster 'Affection'vs.'Affectation' 'Affection'vs.'Affectation' Oneisreal,theother'sjustapretense. DictionaryEntriesNearaffection affecting affection affectional SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtoaffection termofaffection Statisticsforaffection LastUpdated 15Nov2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Affection.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affection.Accessed20Nov.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforaffection affection noun af·​fec·​tion |\ə-ˈfek-shən \ KidsDefinitionofaffection :afeelingoflikingandcaringforsomeoneorsomething Heshowsgreataffectionforhisgrandchildren. affection noun af·​fec·​tion |\ə-ˈfek-shən \ Medical Definitionofaffection (Entry1of2) 1 :amoderatefeelingoremotion 2 :thefeelingaspect(asinpleasureordispleasure)ofconsciousness affection noun Medical Definitionofaffection (Entry2of2) 1 :theactionofaffecting:thestateofbeingaffected 2a :abodilycondition b :disease,malady apulmonaryaffection MorefromMerriam-Websteronaffection Nglish:TranslationofaffectionforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofaffectionforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY trepidation SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary DogWordsQuiz Whichofthefollowinganimalshasadoginitsetymology? canary eel cat hippo Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? 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