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affinity

[uh-fin-i-tee]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR affinity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural af·fin·i·ties.

adjective

of or relating to persons who share the same interests: to arrange charter flights for opera lovers and other affinity groups.

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weakness, closeness, rapport, sympathy, fondness, leaning, affection, resemblance, kinship, thing, partiality, attraction, compatibility, cotton, druthers, correspondence, similitude, semblance, likeness, relationship

Origin of affinity

1275–1325; Middle English affinite < Middle French < Latin affīnitās connection by marriage. See affine, -ity
Related formsnon·af·fin·i·ty, noun, plural non·af·fin·i·ties, adjective
Can be confusedaffinity infinity

Synonyms for affinity

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR affinity ON THESAURUS.COM
1. partiality, fondness; sympathy, leaning, bent. 4. similarity, compatibility.

Antonyms for affinity

1. dislike, aversion. 4. dissimilarity, disparity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for affinity

Contemporary Examples of affinity

Historical Examples of affinity

  • Why Venus ever in her prime, but because of her affinity with me?

    The Praise of Folly

    Desiderius Erasmus

  • He stared at it and the old feeling of affinity swept over him, stronger than ever.

    The Big Tomorrow

    Paul Lohrman

  • I never heard that he had the least affinity for either of these dissipations.

    The First Violin

    Jessie Fothergill

  • A just government cannot be founded on force: for force has no affinity with justice.

  • But let me ask you another question: Has excess of pleasure any affinity to temperance?

British Dictionary definitions for affinity

affinity

noun plural -ties

(foll by with or for) a natural liking, taste, or inclination towards a person or thing
the person or thing so liked
a close similarity in appearance or quality; inherent likeness
relationship by marriage or by ties other than of blood, as by adoptionCompare consanguinity
similarity in structure, form, etc, between different animals, plants, or languages
chem
  1. the tendency for two substances to combine; chemical attraction
  2. a measure of the tendency of a chemical reaction to take place expressed in terms of the free energy changeSymbol: A
biology a measure of the degree of interaction between two molecules, such as an antigen and antibody or a hormone and its receptor
Derived Formsaffinitive, adjective

Word Origin for affinity

C14: via Old French from Latin affīnitāt- connected by marriage, from affīnis bordering on, related
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
Word Origin and History for affinity
n.

c.1300, "relation by marriage" (as opposed to consanguinity), from Old French afinité (12c.), from Latin affinitatem (nominative affinitas) "neighborhood, relationship by marriage," noun of state from affinis "adjacent," also "kin by marriage," literally "bordering on," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + finis "a border, an end" (see finish). Used figuratively since c.1600 of structural relationships in chemistry, philology, etc. Meaning "natural attraction" (as though by family) is from 1610s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for affinity

affinity

[ə-fĭn′ĭ-tē]

n.

An attraction or force between particles that causes them to combine.
The attraction between an antigen and an antibody.
A relationship or resemblance in structure between species that suggests a common origin.
The selective staining of a tissue by a dye.
The selective uptake of a dye, chemical, or other substance by a tissue.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for affinity

affinity

[ə-fĭn′ĭ-tē]

A relationship or resemblance in structure between species that suggests a common origin.
An attraction or force between particles that causes them to combine, as the attraction between an antigen and an antibody.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.