affect
3 ENTRIES FOUND:
affects;
affected;
affecting
affects;
affected;
affecting
Britannica Dictionary definition of AFFECT
[+ object]
1
:
to produce an effect on (someone or something): such as
a
:
to act on (someone or something) and cause a change
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His decisions could affect [=influence] the lives of millions of people.
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The accident will affect [=influence] the value of the car.
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We learned about the way the oceans are affected by the moon.
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This medication may affect your ability to drive a car. [=this medicine may make it dangerous for you to drive a car]
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This new evidence will affect the outcome of the trial.
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The news could adversely affect [=could hurt] her chances of becoming the next president.
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We kept the change from affecting [=harming] our friendship.
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The incident really affected my opinion of him.
b
:
to cause strong emotions in (someone)
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The criticism affected [=bothered, upset] her deeply/greatly.
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The entire town was affected by their deaths. [=everyone in the town felt sad about their deaths]
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We were all greatly affected by the terrible news. [=we were all very upset by the terrible news]
c
:
to cause a change in (a part of the body)
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Paralysis affected his limbs. = His limbs were affected by/with paralysis. [=his limbs were paralyzed]
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The disease can affect your muscles.
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drugs that affect the nervous/immune system
d
:
to cause illness in (someone)
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The condition affects about five million adults each year.
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a serious disease primarily/mainly affecting women over the age of 40
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Only men appear to be affected by the disease.
Usage
Do not confuse the verbs affect and effect. Affect means to act on or change someone or something.
Effect means to cause something to happen.
Note that the verb affect and the noun effect are used in contexts that are similar.
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Rain affected [=influenced] their performance.
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The new president effected [=made, caused] many changes to/in the company's policies.
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The weather affected our plans. = The weather had an effect on our plans. [=the weather caused us to change our plans]
2
formal
:
to pretend that a false behavior or feeling is natural or genuine
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She affected indifference [=she pretended that she did not care], though she was deeply hurt.
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He affected (a look of) surprise. [=he pretended to be surprised]
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She affects [=feigns] a warm friendly manner.
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He affected [=faked] a French accent.
