affair
Americannoun
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anything done or to be done; anything requiring action or effort; business; concern.
an affair of great importance.
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affairs, matters of commercial or public interest or concern; the transactions of public or private business or finance.
affairs of state; Before taking such a long trip you should put all your affairs in order.
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an event or a performance; a particular action, operation, or proceeding.
When did this affair happen?
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thing; matter (applied to anything made or existing, usually with a descriptive or qualifying term).
Our new computer is an amazing affair.
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a private or personal concern; a special function, business, or duty.
That's none of your affair.
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an intense amorous relationship, usually of short duration.
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an event or happening that occasions or arouses notoriety, dispute, and often public scandal; incident.
the Congressional bribery affair.
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a party, social gathering, or other organized festive occasion.
The awards ceremony is the biggest affair on the school calendar.
noun
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a thing to be done or attended to; matter; business
this affair must be cleared up
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an event or happening
a strange affair
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(qualified by an adjective or descriptive phrase) something previously specified, esp a man-made object; thing
our house is a tumbledown affair
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a sexual relationship between two people who are not married to each other
Etymology
Origin of affair
1250–1300; earlier affaire < French, Old French afaire for a faire to do, equivalent to a (< Latin ad to) + faire ≪ Latin facere; replacing Middle English afere < Old French
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.
They played out a tight affair in Florida, with Buffalo leading 10-7 at half-time, then 13-10 heading into the fourth quarter, when the lead changed hands four times in a nail-biting finale.
From BBC
Five years after a Times investigation dulled the shine of the glitzy Hollywood affair, the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, airing Sunday, will cap off a multi-day series of events and tributes now dubbed “Golden Week.”
From Los Angeles Times
“Although Marcus was acknowledged as a philosopher in his own day, his role in military affairs was more important to contemporaries,” the author notes.
As an analyst of Middle East affairs focusing on Iran, I believe that these conditions place Khamenei’s regime under greater threat today than perhaps any other time in its 46-year history.
From Salon
This year, the Golden Globes are a multi-day affair, with an inaugural “Golden Week” serving as a proverbial pregame for Hollywood’s party of the year.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
