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Synonyms

affecting

American  
[uh-fek-ting] / əˈfɛk tɪŋ /

adjective

  1. moving or exciting the feelings or emotions.

    Synonyms:
    piteous, pathetic, pathetic, touching, stirring
affecting British  
/ əˈfɛktɪŋ /

adjective

  1. evoking feelings of pity, sympathy, or pathos; moving

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • affectingly adverb
  • nonaffecting adjective
  • nonaffectingly adverb
  • unaffecting adjective

Etymology

Origin of affecting

First recorded in 1555–65; affect 1 + -ing 2

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.

Which brings “Father Mother Sister Brother” to its most affecting sequence.

From Los Angeles Times

Key Messages for the Atmospheric River affecting California and adjacent areas have been updated.

From Los Angeles Times

As well as needing help to breathe, he was found to have a life-threatening illness affecting his intestines.

From BBC

One said he "had to go off to the shops during my lunchtime" because there was no food available, while another girl said the issues had been affecting her concentration in class.

From BBC

By playing a Division I team, Musselman said, USC also ran the risk of affecting his team’s strength of schedule come tournament time.

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.