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affected

- 10 dictionary results

–adjective

acted upon; influenced.

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

(of the mind or feelings) impressed; moved; touched: She was deeply affected by their generosity.

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Origin:
1570–80; affect¹ + -ed²

–adjective

assumed artificially; unnatural; feigned: affected sophistication; an affected British accent.

assuming or pretending to possess that which is not natural: Her affected wealth and social pedigree are so obviously false that it's embarrassing.

inclined or disposed: well affected toward the speaker's cause.

held in affection; fancied: a novel much affected by our grandparents.

Origin:
1525–35; affect² + -ed²

—Related forms

af·fect·ed·ly, adverb

af·fect·ed·ness, noun

–verb (used with object)

to act on; produce an effect or change in: Cold weather affected the crops.

to impress the mind or move the feelings of: The music affected him deeply.

(of pain, disease, etc.) to attack or lay hold of.

–noun

Psychology. feeling or emotion.

Psychiatry. an expressed or observed emotional response: Restricted, flat, or blunted affect may be a symptom of mental illness, especially schizophrenia.

Obsolete. affection; passion; sensation; inclination; inward disposition or feeling.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L affectus acted upon, subjected to; mental or emotional state (ptp. and action n. of afficere), equiv. to af- af- + fec- (comb. form of facere to make, do) + -tus action n. suffix or -tus ptp. suffix

—Related forms

af·fect·a·ble, adjective

af·fect·a·bil·i·ty, noun

—Synonyms
1. influence, sway; modify, alter. 2. touch, stir.

—Usage note
Affect¹ and effect, each both noun and verb, share the sense of “influence,” and because of their similarity in pronunciation are sometimes confused in writing. As a verb affect¹ means “to act on” or “to move” (His words affected the crowd so deeply that many wept); affect² means “to pretend” or “to assume” (new students affecting a nonchalance they didn't feel). The verb effect means “to bring about, accomplish”: Her administration effected radical changes. The noun effect means “result, consequence”: the serious effects of the oil spill. The noun affect¹ pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, is a technical term in psychology and psychiatry. Affect² is not used as a noun.

–verb (used with object)

to give the appearance of; pretend or feign: to affect knowledge of the situation.

to assume artificially, pretentiously, or for effect: to affect a Southern accent.

to use, wear, or adopt by preference; choose; prefer: the peculiar costume he affected.

to assume the character or attitude of: to affect the freethinker.

(of things) to tend toward habitually or naturally: a substance that affects colloidal form.

(of animals and plants) to occupy or inhabit; live in or on: Lions affect Africa. Moss affects the northern slopes.

Archaic.

to have affection for; fancy.

to aim at; aspire to.

–verb (used without object)

Obsolete. to incline, tend, or favor (usually fol. by to): He affects to the old ways.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME < MF affecter < L affectāre to strive after, feign (freq. of afficere to do to), equiv. to af- af- + fec- (see affect¹) + -tāre freq. suffix

—Related forms

af·fect·er, noun

—Synonyms
1. See pretend.

—Usage note
See affect¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Link To affected

World English Dictionary

affected¹ (əˈfɛktɪd)

—*adj*
1.	deeply moved, esp by sorrow or grief: he was greatly affected by her departure
2.	changed, esp detrimentally

[C17: from affect¹ + -ed²]

affected² (əˈfɛktɪd)

—*adj*
1.	behaving, speaking, etc, in an artificial or assumed way, esp in order to impress others
2.	feigned: affected indifference
3.	archaic inclined; disposed

[C16: from affect² + -ed²]

af'fectedly²

—*adv*

af'fectedness²

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Word Origin & History

affect

"to make a pretense of," 1660s, earlier "to assume the character of (someone)" (1590s); originally in Eng. "to aim at, aspire to, make for" (late 15c.), from M.Fr. affecter (15c.), from L. affectare "to strive after, aim at," freq. of afficere (pp. affectus) "to do something to, act on" (see affect (n.)).

affected

pp. adj. from affect (v.); 1530s in the now-obs. sense "favorably disposed;" meaning "artificially displayed" is recorded from 1580s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

²af·fect definition

Pronunciation: /ə-ˈfekt, a-/
Function: vt
: to produce an effect upon
especially : to produce a material influence upon or alteration in <paralysis affected his limbs>

affect af·fect (ə-fěkt')
v. af·fect·ed, af·fect·ing, af·fects