affected
- 1Changed or hurt by something, such as a storm, a new rule or an illness.
Like a small boat that moves whenever the waves push it.
Towns near the river were badly affected by the flood.
Families affected by the new rules can ask for help.
UsageUse by: towns affected by the flood.
- 2Past tense and past participle of affect.
The drought affected the whole region last summer.
Rising prices affected many small businesses.
UsageSpell it with a: the storm affected us (not
incorrect: effected).Note
- 3Done in a fake way to impress other people.
Like wearing a costume to seem like someone you are not.
His affected accent fooled no one at the dinner.
She spoke with an affected politeness that felt cold.
UsageOften before words for how someone acts: an affected accent. It means fake, not changed.
Similarartificial, insincere, pretentious, theatrical, mannered
Oppositenatural, genuine, sincere, unaffected
Note
Less common meanings
- 4Feeling strong emotion because of something.
Like getting tears in your eyes during a sad movie.
She was deeply affected by the news of his passing.
The whole audience seemed affected by the film's final scene.
UsageOften with deeply or visibly: deeply affected by the news.
Oppositeunmoved
Note
- 5In old math, used of an equation that has the unknown number in more than one power.
Mathematicians of the era labored for days to solve affected equations.
An affected equation defied the simple methods that solved pure ones.
Note
- 6A person with a disease or a similar harmful condition.
Showing meanings only.
affected is a form of affect
affect, verb: To have an effect on something and change it in some way. Full entry
- Spelling
- affect → affected: add -ed
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /ɪd/, an extra syllable.
Practice
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