state of affairs
A specific situation; a set of circumstances.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“This is a bad state of affairs for the team.”
“The manager was shocked by the current state of affairs and demanded an immediate explanation from the staff.”
“Given the volatile state of affairs in the global market, the investors decided to postpone their expansion plans until the situation stabilized.”
- 01
affair Partner
A person with whom one is having an extramarital or unfaithful relationship; the third party in an affair.
- 02
bellwether state
A state of the United States that historically votes for the winning candidate in a given election.
- 03
blue state
A state of the United States voting Democratic in a given election, or tending to vote Democratic in general.
- 04
green state
A U.S. state perceived as environmentally friendly.
- 05
in a real state
Synonym of in a right state.
- 06
in a right state
in a mess or in a state of chaos; very unkempt, in poor condition.
- 07
put one's affairs in order
To prepare for the end of, or a radical change in, one's life.
- 08
something is rotten in the state of Denmark
Something is not right, seriously amiss, especially when leading to suspicion of motive.
Last updated August 10, 2026