affection
1 Americannoun
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fond attachment, devotion, or love.
the affection of a parent for an only child.
- Synonyms:
- friendship, fondness, amity, friendliness, liking
- Antonyms:
- dislike
-
Often affections
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Pathology. a disease, or the condition of being diseased; abnormal state of body or mind.
a gouty affection.
-
the act of affecting; act of influencing or acting upon.
-
the state of being affected.
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Philosophy. a contingent, alterable, and accidental state or quality of being.
-
the affective aspect of a mental process.
-
bent or disposition of mind.
-
Obsolete. bias; prejudice.
noun
noun
-
a feeling of fondness or tenderness for a person or thing; attachment
-
(often plural) emotion, feeling, or sentiment
to play on a person's affections
-
pathol any disease or pathological condition
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psychol any form of mental functioning that involves emotion See also affect 1
-
the act of affecting or the state of being affected
-
archaic inclination or disposition
Usage
What are other ways to say affection?
Affection refers to fond attachment, as of one person to another. How is affection different from love and devotion? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of affection1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin affectiōn- (stem of affectiō ) “disposition or state of mind or body”; see affect 1, -ion
Origin of affection2
Explanation
Affection is the positive feeling you may have or express for other people or things. Your grandma may show her affection for you by pinching your cheek, and you may show your affection for your dog by rubbing her belly. Not everybody is good at showing affection to their loved ones, like old-school dads or tough guys in action movies. If people don't get enough affection, they crave it, and will go to great lengths to get it. You might say that affection is what Luke wanted from Darth Vader all along, in Star Wars.
Vocabulary lists containing affection
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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Love Letter Words for Valentine's Day
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2022, the historical drama King's Affection became the first South Korean series to win an International Emmy Award - which recognises television programming produced and aired outside the US.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2025
Affection for it has become a personality trait; memes of people running late to class or work with an iced coffee in tow are a long-running joke on social media.
From New York Times • Sep. 8, 2022
Today, streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ not only offer up a bevy of K-dramas for their subscribers, they've also produced K-dramas of their own, such as "Squid Game" and "The King's Affection."
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2022
Missing Affection: Okay, so you need something different.
From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2021
Affection followed him—there were few Akhaians like him.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
