affective

[ af-ek-tiv ]

/ ˈæf ɛk tɪv /

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See synonyms for: affective / affectivity on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of, caused by, or expressing emotion or feeling; emotional.

causing emotion or feeling.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of affective

1540–50; from Medieval Latin affectīvus, equivalent to Latin affect(us) (action noun; see affect¹) + -īvus -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM affective

af·fec·tive·ly, adverbaf·fec·tiv·i·ty

[af-ek-tiv-i-tee], /ˌæf ɛkˈtɪv ɪ ti/, nounnon·af·fec·tive, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH affective

affective , effective

Words nearby affective

affection, affectional, affectional orientation, affectionate, affectionately, affective, affective disorder, affective fallacy, affective psychosis, affectless, affenpinscher

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use affective in a sentence

The affective and humorous two-hander, now at Mosaic Theater Company, covers nearly 10 tense years of annual October visits home during which John and adult daughter Caitlyn, both avid birders, indulge in their gentle hobby when they’re not fighting.
Exploring a complicated father-daughter relationship|Patrick Folliard|November 7, 2021|Washington Blade
That narrative connection allows us to better see a situation from another’s viewpoint, and stories with an emotional bent engage the affective empathy network of the brain.
The Storytelling Genius of Jane Goodall and Why Intellectual Arguments Don't Change Behavior|Susanna Schrobsdorff|October 7, 2021|Time
Soon he’ll go into winter hibernation, getting pasty and battling seasonal affective disorder like the rest of us.
In Defense of Shirtless Bike Dude|jversteegh|September 30, 2021|Outside Online
Natural selection processes shaped not only human physiology but human psychology as well—our cognitive, affective, and motivational capacities and dispositions.
Are We Cut Out for Universal Morality? - Issue 100: Outsiders|William J. FitzPatrick|May 26, 2021|Nautilus

That fact alone demonstrates that more complex cognitive consciousness is dependent upon the basic affective form of consciousness that’s generated in the upper brainstem.
Consciousness Is Just a Feeling - Issue 98: Mind|Steve Paulson|March 3, 2021|Nautilus
Studies show seasonal affective disorder is four times more common in women than men.
9 Ways to Cope With Seasonal Affective Disorder|DailyBurn|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.
The Vatican's Same-Sex Synod: The Bishops Hear About Reality. Do They Listen?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, it turned out to be richly perceptual and affective.
A Silence Worth 1,000 Pictures|Blake Gopnik|September 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The repetitive nature of his work is both effective and affective, especially in an exhibition of this scale.
Keith Haring’s Public, Political Art at Paris’s Musée D’Art Moderne|Alice Cavanagh|April 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Ariel Leve on why seasonal affective disorder does a disservice to those of us committed to year-round despair.
Calling BS on SAD|Ariel Leve|January 24, 2010|DAILY BEAST
But the affective or appetitive powers tend towards external action.
On Prayer and The Contemplative Life|St. Thomas Aquinas
The students of Religion have usually been content to describe it either in intellectual or in affective terms.
The Psychological Origin and the Nature of Religion|James H. Leuba
The passionate vehemence with which her words were uttered was affective.
A Prince of Anahuac|James A. Porter
Our work as educators will be to maintain a working harmony in the affective and instinctive life of the people.
The Psychology of Nations|G.E. Partridge
Volition is here used in the wider sense, as including all motor and affective activities in mind.
Social Value|B. M. Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for affective

affective

/ (əˈfɛktɪv) /

adjective

psychol relating to affects

concerned with or arousing the emotions or affection

Derived forms of affective

affectivity (ˌæfɛkˈtɪvɪtɪ) or affectiveness, noun

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

affective

Origin of affective

OTHER WORDS FROM affective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH affective

Words nearby affective

Words related to affective

How to use affective in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for affective

Derived forms of affective