affective
Americanadjective
-
of, caused by, or expressing emotion or feeling; emotional.
-
causing emotion or feeling.
adjective
-
psychol relating to affects
-
concerned with or arousing the emotions or affection
Other Word Forms
- affectively adverb
- affectivity noun
- nonaffective adjective
Etymology
Origin of affective
1540–50; from Medieval Latin affectīvus, equivalent to Latin affect(us) (action noun; see affect 1) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Affective is a word that crops up a lot in psychology—it means having to do with emotions or moods. Affective disorders are characterized by mood swings. It can be tricky to remember the difference between effective and affective (but easier than distinguishing between effect and affect). Effective makes a judgment about how something works—an effective strategy is one that works well. Affective is about how someone acts, or feels.
Vocabulary lists containing affective
"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 7
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This Week In Culture: October 5–11, 2019
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Dicey's Song
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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.
"But for people who have a profound effect at this time of year, when they get significantly depressed, then those are the kinds of people that we might say are experiencing seasonal affective."
From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026
Of these participants, 259 had schizophrenia and 177 had affective disorders that included bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder with psychosis.
From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2025
Are you in any of the affective areas?
From BBC • Jul. 30, 2025
She has a deep understanding of and a postmodern comfort with cognitive dissonance, with lyrics that describe the affective landscape of the gap between our gestures and expectations.
From Salon • Nov. 29, 2024
Interestingly, there is often an affective connection between music and the emotions, and musical intelligence may share common thinking processes with mathematical intelligence.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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.
