affected

¹ American  

[uh-fek-tid] / əˈfɛk tɪd /

adjective

1. acted upon; influenced.

2. influenced in a harmful way; impaired, harmed, or attacked, as by climate or disease.

3. (of the mind or feelings) impressed; moved; touched.

   She was deeply affected by their generosity.

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affected ² American  

[uh-fek-tid] / əˈfɛk tɪd /

adjective

1. assumed artificially; unnatural; feigned.

   affected sophistication; an affected British accent.

2. assuming or pretending to possess that which is not natural.

   Her affected wealth and social pedigree are so obviously false that it's embarrassing.

3. inclined or disposed.

   well affected toward the speaker's cause.

4. held in affection; fancied.

   a novel much affected by our grandparents.

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affected ¹ British  

/ əˈfɛktɪd /

adjective

1. behaving, speaking, etc, in an artificial or assumed way, esp in order to impress others

2. feigned

   affected indifference

3. archaic inclined; disposed

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affected ² British  

/ əˈfɛktɪd /

adjective

1. deeply moved, esp by sorrow or grief

   he was greatly affected by her departure

2. changed, esp detrimentally

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Other Word Forms

• affectedly adverb
• affectedness noun

Etymology

Origin of affected¹

First recorded in 1570–80; affect ¹ + -ed ²

Origin of affected²

First recorded in 1525–35; affect ² + -ed ²

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.

Example Sentences

The firm informed affected staff last week it would be letting go of roughly 250 people, or 3% of its U.S. workforce totaling more than 7,700, the people familiar said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

The decline affected markets across the board, with 54.2 percent fewer visits from Canada and 37.5 percent fewer Russian tourists.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

One of the reasons diesel and energy costs are being affected so much is because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - the narrow waterway which separates Iran from Oman.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

A palace official also said that King Charles reached out to Trump to express his sympathies to all affected.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026

He diplomatically asked Goldfarb if he couldn’t use some of the Soros Foundation money, in a pilot project perhaps, to address the question of how MDR affected DOTS.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• afflicted
• concerned
• damaged
• distressed
• impressed
• overwhelmed
• stirred
• touched
• troubled