- The definition of affect means to produce a change in something.
An example of affect is severe weather conditions drowning a vast number of crops on a farm.
These ruined crops show the affects of a bad storm.
affect
transitive verb
- to have an effect on; influence; produce a change in: bright light affects the eyes
- to move or stir the emotions of: his death affected us deeply
Origin of affect
Middle English affecten ; from Classical Latin affectare, to strive after ; from affectus, past participle of afficere, to influence, attack ; from ad-, to + facere, donoun
- Obsolete a disposition or tendency
Origin of affect
Ger affekt < L affectus, state of mind or body: see affectthe Psychol.- an emotion or feeling attached to an idea, object, etc.
- in general, emotion or emotional response
Related Forms:
- affectable
adjective
transitive verb
- to like to have, use, wear, be in, etc.: she affects plaid coats
- to make a pretense of being, having, feeling, liking, etc.; feign: to affect indifference
- Archaic to aim at; seek
Origin of affect
Middle English affecten ; from Old French affecter ; from Classical Latin affectare, affectRelated Forms:
- affectable
adjective
affect
transitive verb
af·fect·ed, af·fect·ing, af·fects- To put on a false show of; simulate: affected a British accent.
- a. To have or show a liking for: affects dramatic clothes.b. Archaic To fancy; love.
- To tend to by nature; tend to assume: a substance that affects crystalline form.
- To imitate; copy: “Spenser, in affecting the ancients, writ no language” (Ben Jonson).
Origin of affect
Middle English affecten, from Latin affectāre, to strive after, frequentative of afficere, affect-, to affect, influence; see affect1.Related Forms:
- af·fect′er
noun
transitive verb
af·fect·ed, af·fect·ing, af·fects- To have an influence on or effect a change in: Inflation affects the buying power of the dollar.
- To act on the emotions of; touch or move. See Synonyms at move.
- To attack or infect, as a disease: Rheumatic fever can affect the heart.
noun
- Feeling or emotion, especially as manifested by facial expression or body language: “The soldiers seen on television had been carefully chosen for blandness of affect” (Norman Mailer).
- Obsolete A disposition, feeling, or tendency.
Origin of affect
Middle English affecten, from Latin afficere, affect-, to do to, act on : ad-, ad- + facere, to do; see dhē- in Indo-European roots. Usage Note: Affect and effect are often confused because they sound alike and have related meanings. First, bear in mind that there are two words spelled affect. One means “to put on a false show of,” as in She affected a British accent. The other affect, the one that is confused with effect, is both a noun and a verb. As a noun it is uncommon and means roughly “emotion.” It is pronounced with stress on the first syllable rather than the second. Note that affect does not have a noun sense meaning “an influence that brings about a change.” As a verb, affect is most commonly used in the sense of “to cause a change in:” the ways in which smoking affects health. The verb effect means “to bring about or execute”: medical treatment designed to effect a cure. Its corresponding noun means “a result.” Thus if someone affects something, there is likely to be an effect of some kind, and from this may arise some of the confusion. People who stop smoking will see beneficial health effects, but not beneficial health affects. The verbs produce important differences in meaning. The sentence These measures have been designed to effect savings implies that the measures will cause new savings to come about. Using affect in the very similar sentence These measures will affect savings implies that the measures will cause a change in savings that have already been realized.affect
(third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affecting, simple past and past participle affected)
- To influence or alter.
- The experience affected me deeply.
- The heat of the sunlight affected the speed of the chemical reaction.
- Macaulay
- The climate affected their health and spirits.
- To move to emotion.
- He was deeply affected by the tragic ending of the play.
- Of an illness or condition, to infect or harm (a part of the body).
- Hepatitis affects the liver.
- (archaic) To dispose or incline.
- (archaic) To tend to by affinity or disposition.
- (archaic) To assign; to appoint.
Affect and effect are sometimes confused. Affect conveys influence over something that already exists, but effect indicates the manifestation of new or original ideas or entities:
- “...new policies have effected major changes in government.”
- “...new policies have affected major changes in government.”
The former indicates that major changes were made as a result of new policies, while the latter indicates that before new policies, major changes were in place, and that the new policies had some influence over these existing changes.
The verbal noun uses of affect are distinguished from the verbal noun uses of effect more clearly than the regular verb forms. An affect is something that acts or acted upon something else. However, an effect is the result of an action (by something else).
From Middle French affecter, French affecter, and its source, the participle stem of Latin afficere (“to act upon, influence, affect, attack with disease”), from ad- + facere (“to make, do”).
(third-person singular simple present affects, present participle affecting, simple past and past participle affected)
- (now rare) To feel affection for (someone); to like, be fond of. [from 16th c.]
- Hazlitt
- Do not affect the society of your inferiors in rank, nor court that of the great.
- To make a show of; to put on a pretence of; to feign; to assume. To make a false display of. [from 16th c.]
- to affect ignorance
- He managed to affect a smile despite feeling quite miserable.
From Anglo-Norman affecter (“strive after”), Middle French affecter (“feign”), and their source, Latin affectāre (“to strive after, aim to do, pursue, imitate with dissimulation, feign”), frequentative of afficere (“to act upon, influence”) (see Etymology 1, above).
(plural affects)
Affect and effect can both be used as nouns or verbs, but when used as a noun the word affect is limited to the above psychology uses and the definitions for effect are much more common. See also the usage notes as a verb above.
- affecter
- affective
- affection
- affectionate
Middle English affect, from Latin affectus, adfectus (“a state of mind or body produced by some (external) influence, especially sympathy or love”), from afficere (“to act upon, influence”)
