affect: Meaning and Definition of
af•fect
Pronunciation: (v.u-fekt'n.af'ekt), [key] — v.t.
- to act on; produce an effect or change in: Cold weather affected the crops.
- to impress the mind or move the feelings of: The music affected him deeply.
- (of pain, disease, etc.) to attack or lay hold of.
—n. - feeling or emotion.
- an expressed or observed emotional response: Restricted, flat, or blunted affect may be a symptom of mental illness, especially schizophrenia.
- affection; passion; sensation; inclination; inward disposition or feeling.
af•fect
Pronunciation: (u-fekt'), [key] — v.t.
- to give the appearance of; pretend or feign: to affect knowledge of the situation.
- to assume artificially, pretentiously, or for effect: to affect a Southern accent.
- to use, wear, or adopt by preference; choose; prefer: the peculiar costume he affected.
- to assume the character or attitude of: to affect the freethinker.
- (of things) to tend toward habitually or naturally: a substance that affects colloidal form.
- (of animals and plants) to occupy or inhabit; live in or on: Lions affect Africa. Moss affects the northern slopes.
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- to have affection for; fancy.
- to aim at; aspire to.
—v.i. - to incline, tend, or favor (usually fol. by to): He affects to the old ways.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.