# affect

/əˈfɛkt/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/affect
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 2. to cause emotion

verb · CEFR B2

to make someone feel a strong emotion, like sadness.

For teachers: to touch the feelings of someone; to move someone emotionally.

- The sad news about the accident affected everyone in the small town.
- The documentary about the refugee crisis deeply affected the audience, leaving many in tears as the credits began to roll.

### 3. to harm the body

verb · CEFR B2

when a disease or health problem attacks a part of the body.

For teachers: of a disease or medical condition: to infect or attack a specific organ or bodily system.

- The virus usually affects the lungs and makes it hard to breathe.
- While the primary infection was respiratory, the secondary symptoms began to affect the patient's nervous system within forty-eight hours.

### 4. to pretend

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal · Literary

to act in a way that is not natural for you to impress others.

For teachers: to assume a character or mannerism artificially; to make a pretense of.

- He affected a British accent to sound more sophisticated at the party.
- She affected an air of indifference toward the promotion, though her colleagues knew she had campaigned vigorously for the position.

### 5. outward emotion

noun · CEFR C2 · Academic · Technical

the way a person shows their feelings through their face or body.

For teachers: the external expression of emotion as observed by others, distinct from the internal experience of feeling.

- The doctor noticed that the patient had a flat affect and rarely smiled.
- The therapist noted the patient's incongruous affect, observing that he laughed while recounting traumatic childhood memories.

Usage: In this sense, the stress is on the first syllable (AF-fect).

## Examples

- The cold weather will affect the plants in the garden.
- The new government policy will directly affect how much tax small businesses have to pay each year.
- While the immediate results were positive, researchers are still unsure how the long-term exposure to these chemicals will affect the local ecosystem and the health of the residents.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.