affect

affect
affect, effect
1. These two words are often confused. It should be remembered that effect is most common as a noun meaning ‘a result or consequence’

• (In England, at any rate, education produces no effect whatsoever —Oscar Wilde)

and that affect is most common as a verb meaning ‘to have an effect on’ (Bodily exercise indirectly affects all the organs of the body / These measures chiefly affect [i.e. are directed at] drug-pushers / It will not affect [i.e. have a bearing on] his chances of promotion). As a noun, affect survives only as a technical term in psychology. As a verb, effect means ‘to bring about, to cause, to have as a result’ (to effect changes, to effect a cure, to effect a rescue).
2. Affect also means ‘to assume (a character); to pretend to have or feel or do something, etc.’

• (As he reached the pick-up point, he should affect to slow down as if hunting for a car —John Le Carré, 1989).

This is a different word although it is ultimately related to the one above.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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  • affect — [ afɛkt ] n. m. • 1908; all. Affekt; a. fr. et XVIe « état, disposition »; du lat. affectus, comme l all. ♦ Psychol. État affectif élémentaire. Les sensations et les affects. ● affect nom masculin (allemand Affekt) Processus de décharge de l… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • affect — simulate, *assume, pretend, feign, counterfeit, sham affect 1 Affect, influence, touch, impress, strike, sway are more or less closely synonymous when they mean to produce or to have an effect upon a person or upon a thing capable of a reaction.… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Affect — Af*fect , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Affected}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Affecting}.] [L. affectus, p. p. of afficere to affect by active agency; ad + facere to make: cf. F. affectere, L. affectare, freq. of afficere. See {Fact}.] 1. To act upon; to produce an …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • affect — Ⅰ. affect [1] ► VERB 1) make a difference to; have an effect on. 2) touch the feelings of. DERIVATIVES affecting adjective. USAGE Affect and effect are frequently confused …   English terms dictionary

  • affect — I verb act on, adficere, bear upon, cause to alter, cause to vary, change, commovere, conduce, exert influence, have an effect upon, have influence, impress, induce, influence, introduce a change, make a change, play a direct part, prevail upon,… …   Law dictionary

  • affect — [v1] influence, affect emotionally act on, alter, change, disturb, impinge, impress, induce, influence, inspire, interest, involve, modify, move, overcome, perturb, prevail, regard, relate, stir, sway, touch, transform, upset; concepts… …   New thesaurus

  • affect — affect1 [ə fekt′; ] for n. [ 2, af′ekt΄] vt. [ME affecten < L affectare, to strive after < affectus, pp. of afficere, to influence, attack < ad , to + facere, DO1] 1. to have an effect on; influence; produce a change in [bright light… …   English World dictionary

  • Affect — Af*fect ([a^]f*f[e^]kt ), n. [L. affectus.] 1. Affection; inclination; passion; feeling; disposition. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. (Psychotherapy) The emotional complex associated with an idea or mental state. In hysteria, the affect is… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • affect — affect, affective, affectivity An affect is an emotion. In sociology the use of the term generally implies that an action is being or has been carried out for emotional gratification. For example, in their discussion of Class Awareness in the… …   Dictionary of sociology

  • Affect — (v. lat.), schnell entstehende, lebhafte, ein bemerkliches Streben durch Aufhebung des Gleichgewichts im Gemüth hervorbringende, auf die Functionen des Geistes u. Körpers sichtbaren Einfluß habende Gemüthsbewegung. A. entsteht, wenn eine… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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