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