affected
1 Americanadjective
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acted upon; influenced.
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influenced in a harmful way; impaired, harmed, or attacked, as by climate or disease.
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(of the mind or feelings) impressed; moved; touched.
She was deeply affected by their generosity.
adjective
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assumed artificially; unnatural; feigned.
affected sophistication; an affected British accent.
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assuming or pretending to possess that which is not natural.
Her affected wealth and social pedigree are so obviously false that it's embarrassing.
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inclined or disposed.
well affected toward the speaker's cause.
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held in affection; fancied.
a novel much affected by our grandparents.
adjective
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behaving, speaking, etc, in an artificial or assumed way, esp in order to impress others
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feigned
affected indifference
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archaic inclined; disposed
adjective
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deeply moved, esp by sorrow or grief
he was greatly affected by her departure
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changed, esp detrimentally
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of affected1
First recorded in 1570–80; affect 1 + -ed 2
Origin of affected2
Explanation
Something that's affected is influenced or acted upon. If a bottle of ointment says "apply to the affected area," you should put the medication only on the parts of your skin that touched the poison ivy. One of the most common vocabulary mix-ups is effect and affect: effect is usually a noun, and affect is usually a verb that means "to influence" of "act upon." Affected is the adjective form of the verb. After a flood, affected homeowners might try to get insurance. A sad movie might leave you deeply affected. The word can also refer to behavior that's done only to impress someone: if you're acting affected, you might use big, fake melodramatic gestures.
Vocabulary lists containing affected
The Catcher in the Rye
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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The Words of Nick Carraway
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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.
Some seven million people in Venezuela would be affected by the disaster, the UN has said, with the quakes knocking a $6.7-billion hole in the economy -- or six percent of Venezuela's GDP.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
For instance, six NHS trusts in England declared a critical incident last week after hot weather adversely affected their IT systems, scanners, and cancer and lab equipment.
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
Ordinary Venezuelans have taken matters into their own hands following last week's twin tremors that killed almost 2,000 people and affected over 15,000 more, according to official figures.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
Trejo was far from the only athlete gravely affected by the seismic activity in Venezuela.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
Which other chords would be affected by this change?
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
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.
