Affair Meaning
/əˈfɛə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSomething which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public.
nounAny proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely.
Sentence Examples
We must study the affair as a whole.
I have nothing to do with the affair.
I was impressed by his handling of the affair.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The charity gala was a formal ____ that required guests to wear tuxedos and gowns.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The local festival was a grand ____ that everyone in the town enjoyed.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English afere, affere, from Old French afaire, from a- + faire (“to do”), from Latin ad- + facere (“to do”). See fact, and compare ado.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Responsibility is my affair, reciprocity is his."
— 1992, Zygmunt Bauman, Mortality, Immortality and Other Life Strategies, →ISBN, page 45:
"There are a number of issues external to the institution that can influence the fiscal management of student affairs."
— 2011, George S. McClellan, Jeremy Stringer, The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration, →ISBN:
"The Creole affair is important because, from the slaves' standpoint, the Creole affair was the most successful slave revolt in American history."
— 2014, Arthur T. Downey, The Creole Affair, →ISBN:
"She wore a starched white affair on her head, had a wart on one cheek, and silver-rimmed spectacles hung on the tip of her nose."
— 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 200:
"The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door."
— 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The charity gala was a formal ____ that required guests to wear tuxedos and gowns.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The local festival was a grand ____ that everyone in the town enjoyed.