Affect Meaning
/əˈfɛkt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo influence or alter.
verbTo move to emotion.
Sentence Examples
Does the amount of rain affect the growth of crops?
Will the strike affect the price of coal?
How will these changes affect us?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lack of sleep can seriously ____ your ability to concentrate during exams.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The heavy rain will likely ____ the outcome of the football game.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English affecten, from Latin affectāre, from Latin affectus, the participle stem of Latin afficere (“to act upon, influence, affect, attack with disease”), from ad- + facere (“to make, do”). By surface analysis, af- + Latin -fect.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The climate affected their health and spirits."
— 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XVI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:
"Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they were in control."
— 2012 January 26, Steven Sloman, “The Battle Between Intuition and Deliberation”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 74:
"A consideration of the rationale of our passions seems to me very necessary for all who would affect them upon solid and pure principles."
— 1757, Edmund Burke, A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful:
"men whom they thought best affected to religion and their country's liberty"
— 1649, J[ohn] Milton, ΕΙΚΟΝΟΚΛΆΣΤΗΣ [Eikonoklástēs] […], London: […] Matthew Simmons, […], →OCLC:
"The drops of every fluid affect a round figure."
— 1704, I[saac] N[ewton], “(please specify |book=1 to 3)”, in Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. […], London: […] Sam[uel] Smith, and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The lack of sleep can seriously ____ your ability to concentrate during exams.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The heavy rain will likely ____ the outcome of the football game.