Adjacent Words

Affect definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AFFECT', v.t. [L. afficio, affectum, of ad and facio, to make; affecto, to desire, from the same room. Affect is to make to, or upon to press upon.]
1. To act upon; to produce an effect or change upon; as, cold affects the body; loss affects our interests.
2. To act upon, or move the passions; as, affected with grief.
3. To aim at; aspire to; desire or entertain pretension to; as, to affect imperial sway. [See the etymology of Affair.]
4. To tend to by natural affinity or disposition; as, the drops of a fluid affect a spherical form.
5. To love, or regard with fondness.
Think not that wars we love and strife affect.
[This sense is closely allied to the third.]
6. To make a show of; to attempt to imitate, in a manner not natural; to study the appearance of what is not natural, or real; as, to affect to be grave; affected friendship.
It seems to have been used formerly for convict or attaint, as in Ayliffe's Parergon; but this sense is not now in use.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the conscious subjective aspect of feeling or emotion v
1: have an effect upon; "Will the new rules affect me?" [syn: affect, impact, bear upon, bear on, touch on, touch]
2: act physically on; have an effect upon; "the medicine affects my heart rate"
3: connect closely and often incriminatingly; "This new ruling affects your business" [syn: involve, affect, regard]
4: make believe with the intent to deceive; "He feigned that he was ill"; "He shammed a headache" [syn: feign, sham, pretend, affect, dissemble]
5: have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd" [syn: affect, impress, move, strike]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin affectus, from afficere Date: 14th century 1. obsolete feeling, affection 2. the conscious subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes; also a set of observable manifestations of a subjectively experienced emotion <patients…showed perfectly normal reactions and affects — Oliver Sacks> Usage: see effect II. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French affecter, from Latin affectare, frequentative of afficere to influence, from ad- + facere to do — more at do Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. archaic to aim at 2. a. archaic to have affection for b. to be given to ; fancy <affect flashy clothes> 3. to make a display of liking or using ; cultivate <affect a worldly manner> 4. to put on a pretense of ; feign <affect indifference, though deeply hurt> 5. to tend toward <drops of water affect roundness> 6. frequent intransitive verb obsolete incline 2 Synonyms: see assume Usage: see effect III. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from affectus, past participle of afficere Date: 15th century to produce an effect upon: as a. to produce a material influence upon or alteration in <paralysis affected his limbs> b. to act upon (as a person or a person's mind or feelings) so as to effect a response ; influence Usage: see effect • affectability noun • affectable adjective Synonyms: affect, influence, touch, impress, strike, sway mean to produce or have an effect upon. affect implies the action of a stimulus that can produce a response or reaction <the sight affected her to tears>. influence implies a force that brings about a change (as in nature or behavior) <our beliefs are influenced by our upbringing>. touch may carry a vivid suggestion of close contact and may connote stirring, arousing, or harming <plants touched by frost> <his emotions were touched by her distress>. impress stresses the depth and persistence of the effect <only one of the plans impressed him>. strike similar to but weaker than impress, may convey the notion of sudden sharp perception or appreciation <struck by the solemnity of the occasion>. sway implies the acting of influences that are not resisted or are irresistible, with resulting change in character or course of action <politicians who are swayed by popular opinion>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v.tr. 1 a produce an effect on. b (of a disease etc.) attack (his liver is affected). 2 move; touch the feelings of (affected me deeply). Usage: Often confused with effect, which as a verb means 'bring about; accomplish'. Derivatives: affecting adj. affectingly adv. Etymology: F affecter or L afficere affect- influence (as AD-, facere do) 2. v.tr. 1 pretend to have or feel (affected indifference). 2 (foll. by to + infin.) pretend. 3 assume the character or manner of; pose as (affect the freethinker). 4 make a show of liking or using (she affects fancy hats). Etymology: F affecter or L affectare aim at, frequent. of afficere (as AFFECT(1)) 3. n. Psychol. a feeling, emotion, or desire, esp. as leading to action. Etymology: G Affekt f. L affectus disposition f. afficere (as AFFECT(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Affect Af*fect" ([a^]f*f[e^]kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Affected; p. pr. & vb. n. Affecting.] [L. affectus, p. p. of afficere to affect by active agency; ad + facere to make: cf. F. affectere, L. affectare, freq. of afficere. See Fact.] 1. To act upon; to produce an effect or change upon. As might affect the earth with cold heat. --Milton. The climate affected their health and spirits. --Macaulay. 2. To influence or move, as the feelings or passions; to touch. A consideration of the rationale of our passions seems to me very necessary for all who would affect them upon solid and pure principles. --Burke. 3. To love; to regard with affection. [Obs.] As for Queen Katharine, he rather respected than affected, rather honored than loved, her. --Fuller. 4. To show a fondness for; to like to use or practice; to choose; hence, to frequent habitually. For he does neither affect company, nor is he fit for it, indeed. --Shak. Do not affect the society of your inferiors in rank, nor court that of the great. --Hazlitt. 5. To dispose or incline. Men whom they thought best affected to religion and their country's liberty. --Milton. 6. To aim at; to aspire; to covet. [Obs.] This proud man affects imperial ?way. --Dryden. 7. To tend to by affinity or disposition. The drops of every fluid affect a round figure. --Newton. 8. To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume; as, to affect ignorance. Careless she is with artful care, Affecting to seem unaffected. --Congreve. Thou dost affect my manners. --Shak. 9. To assign; to appoint. [R.] One of the domestics was affected to his special service. --Thackeray. Syn: To influence; operate; act on; concern; move; melt; soften; subdue; overcome; pretend; assume.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Affect Af*fect", n. [L. affectus.] Affection; inclination; passion; feeling; disposition. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Affect Af*fect", n. (Psychotherapy) The emotional complex associated with an idea or mental state. In hysteria, the affect is sometimes entirely dissociated, sometimes transferred to another than the original idea.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(affects, affecting, affected) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If something affects a person or thing, it influences them or causes them to change in some way. Nicotine adversely affects the functioning of the heart and arteries... ...the worst-affected areas of Somalia. VERB: V n, V-ed 2. If a disease affects someone, it causes them to become ill. Arthritis is a crippling disease which affects people all over the world. = afflict VERB: V n 3. If something or someone affects you, they make you feel a strong emotion, especially sadness or pity. The divorce affected Jim deeply... VERB: V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Influence, act upon, work upon, modify, alter, change, transform. 2. Concern, interest, regard, relate to, bear upon. 3. Touch, move, impress, melt, subdue, overcome, pierce. 4. Crave, yearn for, aspire to, aim at, desire, like, be drawn toward, be attracted by, take pleasure in. 5. Assume, adopt, take on, feign, arrogate, put on, make a show of, pretend to.

Moby Thesaurus

act, act a part, act like, act on, act upon, actuate, adopt, affect, affection, affectivity, agitate, alter, answer to, appertain to, apply to, assume, attack, attitude, be dressed in, bear on, bear upon, belong to, bend, betoken, bias, bluff, borrow, brandish, breathe, bring, bring forth, bring forward, bring into view, bring out, bring to notice, call for, carry, change, choose, chorus, color, come home to, comprise, concentrate on, concern, connect, contain, copy, correspond to, counterfeit, cover up, crib, dangle, deal with, demonstrate, develop, disclose, display, dispose, dissemble, dissimulate, ditto, divulge, do, do a bit, do like, dramatize, draw, drive, echo, embody, emotion, emotional charge, emotional shade, emotivity, enact, entail, evidence, evince, exhibit, experience, expose to view, express, fake, feeling, feeling tone, feign, flaunt, flourish, focus on, foreboding, forge, four-flush, gammon, get, give sign, give token, go deep, go like, go through one, grieve, gut reaction, hang out, haunt, have connection with, have on, heartthrob, highlight, histrionize, hit, hit the mark, hoke, hoke up, illuminate, imitate, impel, implicate, imply, impress, impress forcibly, impression, incarnate, incline, indicate, induce, influence, inspire, interest, involve, lay hold of, lead, lead to, let on, let on like, liaise with, link with, make a pretense, make an impression, make as if, make believe, make clear, make like, make out like, make plain, manifest, materialize, mean, melt, melt the heart, mental attitude, mirror, modify, move, operate on, opinion, overact, parade, passion, penetrate, perform, persuade, pertain to, perturb, pierce, plagiarize, play, play a part, play a scene, play possum, playact, position, posture, predispose, present, presentiment, presume, presuppose, pretend, pretend to, produce, profess, profound sense, prompt, psychology, put on, put on airs, reach, reaction, reecho, refer to, reflect, regard, relate to, repeat, represent, require, resort, respect, response, reveal, rock, roll out, sadden, select, sensation, sense, sentiment, set forth, sham, show, show forth, simulate, sink in, smart, smite, soften, soften up, sport, spotlight, stance, sting, stir, strike, strike hard, strike home, subsume, sway, take, take in, tell, tie in with, tinge, token, tone, touch, touch a chord, touch upon, transform, traumatize, treat, treat of, trot out, trouble, tug the heartstrings, undercurrent, unfold, upset, use, wave, way of thinking, wear, wear down, weigh with, work