affection

1
[ uh-fek-shuhn ]
See synonyms for: affectionaffections on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. fond attachment, devotion, or love: the affection of a parent for an only child.

  2. Often affections .

    • emotion; feeling; sentiment: over and above our reason and affections.

    • the emotional realm of love: a place in his affections.

  1. Pathology. a disease, or the condition of being diseased; abnormal state of body or mind: a gouty affection.

  2. the act of affecting; act of influencing or acting upon.

  3. the state of being affected.

  4. Philosophy. a contingent, alterable, and accidental state or quality of being.

  5. the affective aspect of a mental process.

  6. bent or disposition of mind.

  7. Obsolete. bias; prejudice.

Origin of affection

1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin affectiōn- (stem of affectiō ) “disposition or state of mind or body”; see affect1, -ion

Other words for affection

Opposites for affection

Other words from affection

  • af·fec·tion·less, adjective

Words that may be confused with affection

Words Nearby affection

Other definitions for affection (2 of 2)

affection2
[ uh-fek-shuhn ]

Origin of affection

2
First recorded in 1525–35; affect2 + -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use affection in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for affection

affection

/ (əˈfɛkʃən) /


noun
  1. a feeling of fondness or tenderness for a person or thing; attachment

  2. (often plural) emotion, feeling, or sentiment: to play on a person's affections

  1. pathol any disease or pathological condition

  2. psychol any form of mental functioning that involves emotion: See also affect 1 (def. 2)

  3. the act of affecting or the state of being affected

  4. archaic inclination or disposition

Origin of affection

1
C13: from Latin affectiōn- disposition, from afficere to affect 1

Derived forms of affection

  • affectional, adjective

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