affection

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af·fec·tion

(ə-fĕk′shən)

1. A tender feeling toward another; fondness.

2. often affections Feeling or emotion: an unbalanced state of affections.

3. A disposition to feel, do, or say; a propensity.

4. Obsolete Prejudice; partiality.

[Middle English affeccioun, from Old French affection, from Latin affectiō, affectiōn-, from affectus, past participle of afficere, to affect, influence; see affect¹.]

af·fec′tion·al adj.

af·fec′tion·al·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

affection

(əˈfɛkʃən)

1. a feeling of fondness or tenderness for a person or thing; attachment

2. (often plural) emotion, feeling, or sentiment: to play on a person's affections.

3. (Pathology) pathol any disease or pathological condition

4. (Psychology) psychol any form of mental functioning that involves emotion. See also affect¹²

5. the act of affecting or the state of being affected

6. archaic inclination or disposition

[C13: from Latin affectiōn- disposition, from afficere to affect¹]

afˈfectional adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

af•fec•tion

(əˈfɛk ʃən)

n.

1. fond attachment, devotion, or love.

2. Often, affections.

a. emotion; feeling: to let the affections sway our reason.

b. the emotional realm of love: to hold a place in one's affections.

3. a diseased condition: a gouty affection.

4. the act of affecting, or the state of being affected.

5. bent or disposition of mind.

[1200–50; Middle English < Old French < Latin affectiō]

af•fec′tion•less, adj.

Affection

See Also: FRIENDSHIP, LOVE

Affectionate as a miser toward his money —Anon
(She had an) affection for her children almost like a cool governess —D. H. Lawrence
Affection is the youth of the heart, and thought is the heart’s maturity —Kahlil Gibran
Gibran completed the simile with “But oratory is its senility.”
Affection, like melancholy, magnifies trifles —Leigh Hunt
Affection, like spring flowers, breaks through the most frozen ground at last —Jeremy Bentham
Affection, like the nut within the shell, wants freedom —Dion Boucicault
Affection or love … intended for someone else and spilled accidentally like a bottle of ink under a dragging sleeve —Diane Wakoski
Affections are like slippers; they will wear out —Edgar Saltus
The affections, like conscience, are rather to be led than driven —Thomas Fuller
Her cowlike, awkward affection surrounding him like a moist fog —Hank Searls
The human affections, like the solar heat, lose their intensity as they depart from the center —Alexander Hamilton
My affection has no bottom, like the Bay of Portugal —William Shakespeare
The shorter, more commonly used “Affection is like a bottomless well” was more than likely inspired by this comparison from As You Like It
She was like a cat in her fondness for nearness, for stroking, touching, nestling —Katherine Anne Porter

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

affection - a positive feeling of liking; "he had trouble expressing the affection he felt"; "the child won everyone's heart"; "the warmness of his welcome made us feel right at home"

affectionateness, philia, warmness, warmheartedness, fondness, tenderness, heart

feeling - the experiencing of affective and emotional states; "she had a feeling of euphoria"; "he had terrible feelings of guilt"; "I disliked him and the feeling was mutual"

attachment, fond regard - a feeling of affection for a person or an institution

protectiveness - a feeling of protective affection

regard, respect - a feeling of friendship and esteem; "she mistook his manly regard for love"; "he inspires respect"

soft spot - a sentimental affection; "she had a soft spot for her youngest son"

affection

noun fondness, liking, feeling, love, care, desire, passion, warmth, attachment, goodwill, devotion, kindness, inclination, tenderness, propensity, friendliness, amity She thought of him with affection.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

affection

noun

1. The condition of being closely tied to another by affection or faith:

attachment, devotion, fondness, liking, love, loyalty (used in plural).

2. A complex and usually strong subjective response, such as love or hate:

affectivity, emotion, feeling, sentiment.

Translations

عَطْف، حُنُو، حُب

náklonostsympatie

hengivenhedkærlighedømhed

Gefühl Zuneigung

αγάπη

cariño afecto

affection amour tendance

vonzalom

hlÿhugur, ástúî

affetto affezione amore

meiliaimeilusprielankumassimpatija

pieķeršanāssimpātijasafektsietekmeietekmēšana

affeksjonhengivenhet kjærlighet

afecção

naklonjenost

muhabbet sevgi

喜爱

affection

[əˈfekʃən] N → afecto m (for, towards a hacia) → cariño m
to transfer one's affections → dar su amor a otro/a

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

affection

[əˈfɛkʃ^ən] n → affection f
He has a special place in the affections of the public → Il est très aimé du public.
to feel affection for sb → avoir de l'affection pour qn
to win sb's affection → gagner l'affection de qn

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

affection

(= fondness) → Zuneigung f no pl → (for, towards zu); to win somebody’s affections (dated, hum) → jds Zuneigung gewinnen; I have or feel a great affection for her → ich mag sie sehr gerne; don’t you even feel any affection for her at all? → fühlst du denn gar nichts für sie?; you could show a little more affection toward(s) me → du könntest mir gegenüber etwas mehr Gefühl zeigen; children who lacked affection → Kinder, denen die Liebe fehlte; everybody needs a little affection → jeder braucht ein bisschen Liebe; he has a special place in her affections → er nimmt einen besonderen Platz in ihrem Herzen ein; display of affection → Ausdruck m → von Zärtlichkeit

(Med) → Erkrankung f, → Affektion f (spec)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

affection

[əˈfɛkʃ/ən] n → affetto

affection

(əˈfekʃən) noun

liking or fondness. I have great affection for her, but she never shows any affection towards me.

afˈfectionate (-nət) adjective

having or showing affection. an affectionate child; She is very affectionate towards her mother.

afˈfectionately adverb

af·fec·tion

n. [sickness] afección, dolencia, enfermedad; [feeling] expresión de cariño, afecto o afección.

affection

n cariño, afecto

References in classic literature ?

Their affection was always to subside into friendship.

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We will add this in general, touching the affection of envy; that of all other affections, it is the most importune and continual.

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The Mother fondles one and nurtures it with the greatest affection and care, but hates and neglects the other.

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But some of us, regarding the ocean with understanding and affection, have seen it looking old, as if the immemorial ages had been stirred up from the undisturbed bottom of ooze.

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Expressions which are in no way composite signify substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, state, action, or affection. To sketch my meaning roughly, examples of substance are 'man' or 'the horse', of quantity, such terms as 'two cubits long' or 'three cubits long', of quality, such attributes as 'white', 'grammatical'.

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Are there not many brethren and sisters among us, who have lived long together in wedlock, yet, adopting our faith, find their hearts purified from all but spiritual affection?"

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Bennet missed his second daughter exceedingly; his affection for her drew him oftener from home than any thing else could do.

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They said he was Sensible, well-informed, and Agreable; we did not pretend to Judge of such trifles, but as we were convinced he had no soul, that he had never read the sorrows of Werter, and that his Hair bore not the least resemblance to auburn, we were certain that Janetta could feel no affection for him, or at least that she ought to feel none.

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Sir Walter, indeed, though he had no affection for Anne, and no vanity flattered, to make him really happy on the occasion, was very far from thinking it a bad match for her.

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Vernon would allow something to my affection for herself and her husband in the length of my visit, she would do more justice to us all; but my sister is unhappily prejudiced beyond the hope of conviction against Lady Susan.

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And what fastens attention, in the intercourse of life, like any passage betraying affection between two parties?

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I, you may well believe, could talk of nothing but my child;--he could not conceal his distress; I saw that it equalled my own, and he perhaps, thinking that mere friendship, as the world now goes, would not justify so warm a sympathy--or rather, not thinking at all, I suppose--giving way to irresistible feelings, made me acquainted with his earnest, tender, constant, affection for Marianne.