Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

1 N‑SING If an event or a series of events has been mentioned and you want to talk about it again, you can refer to it as the affair . □  The government has mishandled the whole affair. □  The affair began when customs officials inspected a convoy of 60 tankers.

2 N‑SING You can refer to an important or interesting event or situation as ' the … affair '. [mainly JOURNALISM ] □  …a reduction of defence expenditures in the wake of the Suez affair.

3 N‑SING You can describe the main quality of an event by saying that it is a particular kind of affair . □  Michael said that his planned 10-day visit would be a purely private affair.

4 N‑SING You can describe an object as a particular kind of affair when you want to draw attention to a particular feature, or indicate that it is unusual. □  All their beds were distinctive; Mac's was an iron affair with brass knobs.

5 N‑COUNT If two people who are not married to each other have an affair , they have a sexual relationship. □  She was having an affair with someone at work.

6 → see also love affair

7 N‑PLURAL You can use affairs to refer to all the important facts or activities that are connected with a particular subject. □  He does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of another country.

8 → see also current affairs , state of affairs

9 N‑PLURAL [usu poss N ] Your affairs are all the matters connected with your life which you consider to be private and normally deal with yourself. □  The unexpectedness of my father's death meant that his affairs were not entirely in order.

10 N‑SING [poss N ] If you say that a decision or situation is someone's affair , you mean that it is their responsibility, and other people should not interfere. □  If you wish to make a fool of yourself, that is your affair.

af|fect ◆◆◇ /əfe kt/ (affects , affecting , affected )

1 VERB If something affects a person or thing, it influences them or causes them to change in some way. □ [V n] Nicotine adversely affects the functioning of the heart and arteries. □ [V -ed] …the worst-affected areas of Somalia.

2 VERB If a disease affects someone, it causes them to become ill. □ [V n] Arthritis is a crippling disease which affects people all over the world.

3 VERB If something or someone affects you, they make you feel a strong emotion, especially sadness or pity. □ [V n] Her experience of the last few hours has deeply affected her. SYNONYMS affect VERB 1

influence:They still influence what's played on the radio.

impact on:Such schemes mean little unless they impact on people.

alter:They have never altered their programmes by a single day.

af|fec|ta|tion /æ fekte I ʃ ^ə n/ (affectations ) N‑VAR If you say that someone's attitude or behaviour is an affectation , you disapprove of the fact that it is not genuine or natural, but is intended to impress other people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  I wore sunglasses all the time and people thought it was an affectation.

af|fect|ed /əfe kt I d/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone's behaviour as affected , you disapprove of the fact that they behave in an unnatural way that is intended to impress other people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  She had an affected air and a disdainful look.

af|fect|ing /əfe kt I ŋ/ ADJ If you describe something such as a story or a piece of music as affecting , you think it is good because it makes you feel a strong emotion, especially sadness or pity. [LITERARY , APPROVAL ] □  …an affecting drama about a woman with a terminal illness.

af|fec|tion /əfe kʃ ^ə n/ (affections )