affect
/əˈfɛkt/ verb, noun
Forms affects affecting affected affectest affectedst affecteth
- verb (transitive) To influence or alter. “The experience affected me deeply.”
- verb (transitive) To move to emotion. “He was deeply affected by the tragic ending of the play.”
- verb (transitive, pathology) Of an illness or condition, to infect or harm (a part of the body). “Hepatitis affects the liver.”
- verb (transitive, archaic) To dispose or incline.
- verb (transitive, archaic) To tend to by affinity or disposition.
- verb (transitive, archaic) To assign; to appoint.
- verb (transitive, Scots law) To burden (property) with a fixed charge or payment, or other condition or restriction.
- verb (transitive, archaic) To feign or pretend.
- verb (transitive) To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume. To make a false display of. “to affect ignorance”
- verb (obsolete, transitive) To aim for, to try to obtain.
- verb (transitive, rare) To feel affection for (someone); to like, be fond of.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To show a fondness for (something); to choose.
- noun (psychology) A subjective feeling experienced in response to a thought or other stimulus; mood, emotion, especially as demonstrated in external physical signs.
- noun (obsolete) One's mood or inclination; mental state.
- noun (obsolete) A desire, an appetite.
Synonyms
alter change have an effect on influence play a role in play a part in move touch attack harm infect fake simulate feign impact bear upon bear on touch on involve regard sham pretend dissemble impress strike
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.
From Middle English affecten, from Anglo-Norman affecter (“strive after”), Middle French affecter (“feign”), and their source, Latin affectāre (“to strive after, aim to do, pursue, imitate with dissimulation, feign”), frequentative of afficere (“to act upon, influence”) (see Etymology 1, above).
From Middle English affect, from Latin affectus, adfectus (“a state of mind or body produced by some (external) influence, especially sympathy or love”), from afficere (“to act upon, influence”).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To act upon; to produce an effect or change upon.
- verb To influence or move, as the feelings or passions; to touch.
- noun Affection; inclination; passion; feeling; disposition. [Obs.]
Etymology [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.]
Etymology [L. affectus.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “affect”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details