# affinity

/əˈfɪnəti/ (US) · /ɐfˈɪnɪti/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/affinity
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. natural liking

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a natural feeling that you understand or like someone or something very much.

For teachers: a spontaneous or natural liking for or identification with something or someone.

- From a young age, she felt a strong affinity for classical music and spent hours practicing.
- The novelist's deep affinity for the rural landscape is evident in the lyrical way she describes the changing seasons.

Usage: Often used with the preposition 'for' or 'with'.

### 2. similarity

noun · CEFR C1 · Academic

a close connection between two things because they have similar qualities or features.

For teachers: a similarity of characteristics suggesting a relationship, especially a resemblance in structure or origin.

- There is a clear affinity between the two languages, as many of their words share the same roots.
- Scholars have noted a stylistic affinity between the early works of these two painters, despite their different geographical backgrounds.

Usage: Commonly used with 'between'.

### 3. chemical attraction

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

the force that makes certain atoms or chemicals join together.

For teachers: the tendency of certain substances to combine with others, forming chemical bonds or complexes.

- Carbon has a high affinity for oxygen, which is why it burns so easily.
- The researcher measured the binding affinity of the new drug to ensure it would target the correct receptors in the brain.

### 4. computing

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a setting that keeps a computer task running on the same processor to make it faster.

For teachers: the tendency or configuration to keep a specific process or task running on a particular CPU core to optimise cache performance.

- Setting the processor affinity helped the server handle the heavy traffic more efficiently.
- By adjusting the thread affinity, the developer was able to reduce latency in the high-frequency trading application.

### 5. relationship by marriage

noun · CEFR C2 · Formal · Technical

a family relationship through marriage rather than by blood.

For teachers: the relationship that a person has to the blood relatives of their spouse by virtue of the marriage.

- In many legal systems, affinity is treated differently than blood relationships regarding inheritance.
- The judge had to determine if the witness's relationship by affinity to the defendant constituted a conflict of interest.

## Examples

- She has a natural affinity for learning new languages.
- The two artists felt an immediate affinity for each other's work because they both used bold, bright colors.
- The architect's design shows a clear affinity with the surrounding landscape, utilizing local stone and timber to create a structure that feels organic to the site.

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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.