affect









affect


verb (used with object)

  1. to act on; produce an effect or change in: Cold weather affected the crops.
  2. to impress the mind or move the feelings of: The music affected him deeply.
  3. (of pain, disease, etc.) to attack or lay hold of.

noun

  1. Psychology. feeling or emotion.
  2. Psychiatry. an expressed or observed emotional response: Restricted, flat, or blunted affect may be a symptom of mental illness, especially schizophrenia.
  3. Obsolete. affection; passion; sensation; inclination; inward disposition or feeling.

verb (used with object)

  1. to give the appearance of; pretend or feign: to affect knowledge of the situation.
  2. to assume artificially, pretentiously, or for effect: to affect a Southern accent.
  3. to use, wear, or adopt by preference; choose; prefer: the peculiar costume he affected.
  4. to assume the character or attitude of: to affect the freethinker.
  5. (of things) to tend toward habitually or naturally: a substance that affects colloidal form.
  6. (of animals and plants) to occupy or inhabit; live in or on: Lions affect Africa. Moss affects the northern slopes.
  7. Archaic.
    1. to have affection for; fancy.
    2. to aim at; aspire to.

verb (used without object)

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

verb (əˈfɛkt) (tr)

  1. to act upon or influence, esp in an adverse waydamp affected the sparking plugs
  2. to move or disturb emotionally or mentallyher death affected him greatly
  3. (of pain, disease, etc) to attack

noun (ˈæfɛkt, əˈfɛkt)

  1. psychol the emotion associated with an idea or set of ideasSee also affection

verb (mainly tr)

  1. to put on an appearance or show of; make a pretence ofto affect ignorance
  2. to imitate or assume, esp pretentiouslyto affect an accent
  3. to have or use by preferenceshe always affects funereal clothing
  4. to adopt the character, manner, etc, ofhe was always affecting the politician
  5. (of plants or animals) to live or grow inpenguins affect an arctic climate
  6. to incline naturally or habitually towardsfalling drops of liquid affect roundness
n.

late 14c., “mental state,” from Latin noun use of affectus “furnished, supplied, endowed,” figuratively “disposed, constituted, inclined,” past participle of afficere “to do; treat, use, manage, handle; act on; have influence on, do something to,” a verb of broad meaning, from ad- “to” (see ad-) + facere (past participle factus) “do” (see factitious). Perhaps obsolete except in psychology. Related: Affects.

v.2

“to make a pretense of,” 1660s, earlier “to assume the character of (someone)” (1590s); originally in English “to aim at, aspire to, desire” (early 15c.), from Middle French affecter (15c.), from Latin affectare “to strive after, aim at,” frequentative of afficere (past participle affectus) “to do something to, act on” (see affect (n.)). Related: Affected; affecting.

v.1

“to make an impression on,” 1630s; earlier “to attack” (c.1600), “act upon, infect” (early 15c.), from affect (n.). Related: Affected; affecting.

v.

  1. To have an influence on or affect a change in.
  2. To attack or infect, as a disease.

n.

  1. Feeling or emotion, especially as manifested by facial expression or body language.
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