affinity
- 01 C1 Advanced
a natural feeling that you understand or like someone or something very much.
a spontaneous or natural liking for or identification with something or someone.
Simple“From a young age, she felt a strong affinity for classical music and spent hours practicing.”
In context“The novelist's deep affinity for the rural landscape is evident in the lyrical way she describes the changing seasons.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'for' or 'with'.
- 02 C1 Advanced
a close connection between two things because they have similar qualities or features.
a similarity of characteristics suggesting a relationship, especially a resemblance in structure or origin.
Simple“There is a clear affinity between the two languages, as many of their words share the same roots.”
In context“Scholars have noted a stylistic affinity between the early works of these two painters, despite their different geographical backgrounds.”
UsageCommonly used with 'between'.
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
the force that makes certain atoms or chemicals join together.
the tendency of certain substances to combine with others, forming chemical bonds or complexes.
Simple“Carbon has a high affinity for oxygen, which is why it burns so easily.”
In context“The researcher measured the binding affinity of the new drug to ensure it would target the correct receptors in the brain.”
Synonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
a setting that keeps a computer task running on the same processor to make it faster.
the tendency or configuration to keep a specific process or task running on a particular CPU core to optimise cache performance.
Simple“Setting the processor affinity helped the server handle the heavy traffic more efficiently.”
In context“By adjusting the thread affinity, the developer was able to reduce latency in the high-frequency trading application.”
Synonyms - 05 C2 Proficiency
a family relationship through marriage rather than by blood.
the relationship that a person has to the blood relatives of their spouse by virtue of the marriage.
Simple“In many legal systems, affinity is treated differently than blood relationships regarding inheritance.”
In context“The judge had to determine if the witness's relationship by affinity to the defendant constituted a conflict of interest.”
SynonymsAntonymsconsanguinity
Usage have affinity
“While the Yanks have an envious affinity for everything royal, even they tired of the entitled couple’s endless whining about how they were so hard done by.”
“Yet a portrait always tells us as much about its maker as its muse, and so Cahill moves on to what this painting might reveal of the artist’s own ideas and affinities.”
From Middle English affinite, from Old French affinité. Ostensibly equivalent to affine + -ity.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.