Affection — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Affection (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. a feeling of strong or constant regard for and dedication to someone

   "an elderly couple showing their affection for each other by little acts of kindness"

   similar: attachment, devotedness, devotion, fondness, love, passion
   related: appetite, fancy, favor, like, liking, partiality, preference, relish, taste, craving, crush, desire, infatuation, longing, lust, yearning, ardor, eagerness, enthusiasm, fervor, zeal, appreciation, esteem, estimation, regard, respect, adoration, adulation, deification, idolatry, idolization, worship, allegiance, faithfulness, fealty, fidelity, loyalty, steadfastness
   opposite: abomination, hate, hatred, loathing, rancor
   near: allergy, animosity, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, disfavor, dislike, enmity, hostility, abhorrence, disgust, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion, misanthropy

2. an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning

   "born with a heart affection that later caused him problems"

   similar: ail, ailment, bug, complaint, complication, condition, disease, disorder, distemper, distemperature, fever, ill, illness, infirmity, malady, sickness, trouble
   related: contagion, contagious disease, contagium, infection, attack, bout, fit, spell, debility, decrepitude, feebleness, frailness, lameness, sickliness, unhealthiness, unsoundness, unwellness, weakness, malaise, matter, pip, epidemic, pest, pestilence, plague
   opposite: health, wellness
   near: fitness, healthiness, heartiness, robustness, soundness, wholeness, wholesomeness, fettle, shape

3. a habitual attraction to some activity or thing

   "I'm rooting for the Cubs—just my natural affection for the underdog, I guess"

   similar: affinity, aptitude, bent, bias, bone, devices, disposition, genius, habitude, impulse, inclination, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, turn
   related: favor, one-sidedness, partisanship, prejudice, endowment, faculty, flair, gift, knack, talent, addiction, appetite, fancy, fondness, like, liking, preference, taste, forte, speciality, specialty, convention, custom, habit, pattern, practice, routine, trick, way, wont, eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, kink, oddity, peculiarity, quirk, singularity
   near: allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, distaste, detachment, impartiality, neutrality, objectivity, apathy, disinterestedness, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern

4. something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind

   "religion, of one kind or another, is an affection common to every society known to have existed"

   similar: attribute, attribution, character, characteristic, criterion, diagnostic, differentia, feature, fingerprint, hallmark, mark, marker, note, particularity, peculiarity, point, property, quality, specific, stamp, touch, trait
   related: badge, indication, sign, emblem, symbol, token, charm, grace, excellence, merit, virtue, eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, oddity, quirk, individuality, singularity, uniqueness