affection

uh-FEK-shuhn/əˈfɛk.ʃən/

Pluralaffections (some meanings)

7 meanings of affection

1
noununcountable
A warm feeling of love you have for someone or something.
Like the warm feeling you get when you hug someone you love.
She showed great affection for her grandmother every visit.
The puppy greeted everyone with obvious affection.
Similarfondness, love, warmth, tenderness, attachment
Oppositedislike, hatred, hostility
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2
nouncountable
A strong feeling that moves you and changes how you think.
Music can bring out every affection, from joy to sadness.
When anger and grief take over, these strong affections can make it hard to think clearly.
Similaremotion, feeling, passion
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3
nouncountable
A change in how someone feels, caused by something they think about or notice.
Like how a sad song can suddenly change the way you feel.
A sudden affection of sadness came over her at the bad news.
Music can stir a deep affection in anyone who listens.
Similaremotion, feeling
4
noununcountable
The act of one thing having an effect on another.
Like one domino knocking into the next and making it move.
Heating is the affection of an object by a flame.
The affection of one ball by another sends it rolling away.
Note
5
nouncountable
A quality, feature, or condition that belongs to something.
The teacher asked us to list every affection of the rock: its weight, its color, and its hardness.
Heat can change the affections of a metal, making it soft and easy to bend.
Similarproperty, attribute, quality
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Less common meanings

6
nounarchaiccountable
An illness or harmful condition affecting part of the body.
Like a fault that stops one part of a machine from working.
The doctor treated an affection of the lungs.
a pulmonary affection
1834, Samuel George Morton, Illustrations of Pulmonary ConsumptionHere, affection means a disease or illness, in this case of the lungs.
Note
7
verbarchaic
To feel love or fondness toward a person or thing.
Why, truth is truth, I do not think my lady Isabella ever much affectioned my young lord, your son: yet he was a sweet youth as one should see.
1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of OtrantoHere, affectioned means felt love or tender fondness for someone.
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Practice

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Origin

From Latin, coming through Old French and Middle English. It is made from "affect" plus "-ion".