Definitions for Affair
əˈfɛəraf·fair

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. matter, affair, thingnoun

   a vaguely specified concern

   "several matters to attend to"; "it is none of your affair"; "things are going well"

2. affair, affaire, intimacy, liaison, involvement, amournoun

   a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship

3. affair, occasion, social occasion, function, social functionnoun

   a vaguely specified social event

   "the party was quite an affair"; "an occasion arranged to honor the president"; "a seemingly endless round of social functions"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 3 votes

1. affairnoun

   That which is done or is to be done; matter; concern; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public; often in the plural.

2. affairnoun

   Any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely.

3. affairnoun

   An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle.

4. affairnoun

   A material object (vaguely designated).

   He used a hook-shaped affair with a long handle to unlock the car.

5. affairnoun

   An adulterous relationship. (from affaire de cur.)

6. Etymology: From afere, affere, from afaire, from a- + faire; Latin ad- + facere to do. See fact, and confer ado.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Affairnoun

   Business; something to be managed or transacted. It is used for both private and publick matters.

   Etymology: affaire, Fr.

   I was not born for courts or great affairs;
   I pay my debts, believe, and say my prayers. Alexander Pope.

   A good acquaintance with method will greatly assist every one in ranging, disposing, and managing all human affairs. Isaac Watts, Logick.

   What St. John’s skill in state affairs,
   What Ormond’s valour, Oxford’s cares,
   To aid their sinking country lent,
   Was all destroy’d by one event. Jonathan Swift.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Affair

   An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of it.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Affairnoun

   that which is done or is to be done; matter; concern; as, a difficult affair to manage; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public; -- often in the plural. "At the head of affairs." Junius

2. Affairnoun

   any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely; as, an affair of honor, i. e., a duel; an affair of love, i. e., an intrigue

3. Affairnoun

   an action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle

4. Affairnoun

   action; endeavor

5. Affairnoun

   a material object (vaguely designated)

6. Etymology: [OE. afere, affere, OF. afaire, F. affaire, fr. a faire to do; L.. ad + facere to do. See Fact, and cf. Ado.]

FreebaseRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Affair

   An affair is a sexual relationship or a romantic friendship or passionate attachment between two people.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Affair

   af-fār′, n. that which is to be done: business: any small matter: a battle of minor importance: a matter of intimate personal concern, as a duel—a so-called affair of honour, or an intrigue: (pl.) transactions in general: public concerns. [O. Fr. afaire (Fr. affaire)—à and faire—L. ad, and facĕre, to do. Cf. Ado.]

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. affair

   An indecisive engagement; a duel.

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. affair

   An action or engagement, not of sufficient magnitude to be termed a battle.

Matched Categories

1. • Concern
   • Sexual Relationship
   • Social Event

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Affair' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3006

2. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Affair' in Nouns Frequency: #414

Anagrams for Affair »

1. raffia

How to pronounce Affair?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Affair in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Affair in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Affair in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of Affair in a Sentence

1. Jan Smuts:

   Nazism ... destroys the very soul of our civilization ... I have not taken the same grave view of Bolshevism, for it never was clear to me that Bolshevism, in spite of its brutalities and cruelties, really threatened the essentials of our ethical civilization. And after all it was a revolution of a semi-barbarous people against a rotten government and an effete church. Nazi-ism in highly cultured Germany is a very different affair.

2. Scott Bakula:

   Sad to end our love affair with this phenomenal city but so grateful for all the friends we made along the way, i will miss the music. Big thank you to CBS for seven years.

3. Evercore ISI:

   It would be a major positive trigger for the stock if VW quantified the total potential cost of the diesel affair.

4. Todd Fisher:

   They had an impetuous affair and I was aware of it — not in any huge detail because it was n’t that big of a thing, it was n’t like it was such an ongoing thing. But Carrie Fisher had sworn me to secrecy on it, and no one had ever said anything to my mother.

5. Marcus Aurelius:

   Shall any man hate me? That will be his affair. But I will be mild and benevolent toward every man, and ready to show even him his mistake, not reproachfully, nor yet as making a display of my endurance, but nobly and honestly.

Popularity rank by frequency of use