affair

[ uh-fair ]

noun

1. anything done or to be done; anything requiring action or effort; business; concern:

   an affair of great importance.

2. affairs, matters of commercial or public interest or concern; the transactions of public or private business or finance:

   affairs of state; Before taking such a long trip you should put all your affairs in order.

3. an event or a performance; a particular action, operation, or proceeding:

   When did this affair happen?

4. thing; matter (applied to anything made or existing, usually with a descriptive or qualifying term):

   Our new computer is an amazing affair.

5. a private or personal concern; a special function, business, or duty:

   That's none of your affair.

6. an intense amorous relationship, usually of short duration.
7. an event or happening that occasions or arouses notoriety, dispute, and often public scandal; incident:

   the Congressional bribery affair.

8. a party, social gathering, or other organized festive occasion:

   The awards ceremony is the biggest affair on the school calendar.

affair

/ əˈfɛə /

noun

1. a thing to be done or attended to; matter; business

   this affair must be cleared up

2. an event or happening

   a strange affair

3. qualified by an adjective or descriptive phrase something previously specified, esp a man-made object; thing

   our house is a tumbledown affair

4. a sexual relationship between two people who are not married to each other

Word History and Origins

Origin of affair¹

1250–1300; earlier affaire < French, Old French afaire for a faire to do, equivalent to a (< Latin ad to) + faire ≪ Latin facere; replacing Middle English afere < Old French

Word History and Origins

Origin of affair¹

C13: from Old French, from à faire to do

Example Sentences

He denied that his crimes against his wife had been sparked by an inferiority complex or by a desire for revenge for an affair she had in the 1980s.

From BBC

The lawyer behind the claim, Tom Kherkher - himself a popular YouTuber on legal affairs - says the failure to deliver the game forms only part of the case.

From BBC

Prosecutors said that Trump tried to disguise reimbursements to his personal attorney, who had paid off an adult film star with whom Trump allegedly had an affair.

From BBC

Despite the affairs, the hurt and the accumulated bitterness over the years, the pair continued to make people laugh — and laugh at each other.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's all quite raw with us in the fact that we've gone through and sorted a lot of affairs after my father," he explained.

From BBC

Related Words

• case
• employment
• event
• incident
• interest
• proceeding
• project
• question
• subject
• task
• thing
• topic
• transaction