Meaning of affair in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /əˈfɛr/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent

  1. Noun

    affair

    Etymology

    Middle English: from Old French afaire, from à faire‘to do’; compare with ado

    Definitions

    1. a vaguely specified concern

    Examples

    • « several matters to attend to »
    • « it is none of your affair »
    • « things are going well »
  2. 2. a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
  3. 3. a vaguely specified social event

    Examples

    • « the party was quite an affair »
    • « an occasion arranged to honor the president »
    • « a seemingly endless round of social functions »

Famous quotes

  • « The upheavals of adolescence silenced 'A Christmas Carol' for a few years. I became a firebrand atheist. Christmas - humbug! Too commercial! Then I became an agnostic. Christmas was a pro-forma affair, basically a chore. Buy mother a book, dad a new tie, my brother and sister small gifts. Pretend thanks for the fountain pens and shirts I received. »
    Whitley Strieber
  • « Success is a public affair. Failure is a private funeral. »
    Rosalind Russell
  • « For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. »
    Robert Louis Stevenson
  • « I wrote the very first stories in science fiction which dealt with homosexuality, The World Well Lost and Affair With a Green Monkey. »
    Theodore Sturgeon
  • « We all become great explorers during our first few days in a new city, or a new love affair. »
    Mignon McLaughlin

Browse dictionary