affecting
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- affectingly adverb
- nonaffecting adjective
- nonaffectingly adverb
- unaffecting adjective
Etymology
Origin of affecting
Explanation
If the final scene has you sniffling and reaching for the Kleenex, the movie you’re watching could be described as affecting, meaning it makes you emotional. You might be familiar with the noun affect, which refers to a feeling or emotion. Affecting is just the adjective form of that word — so you can probably guess that it describes things that provoke strong feelings or emotions. You might watch an affecting basketball game, for example, or see an affecting performance of a play. The feeling caused by something affecting can be good or bad, happy or sad. The key is that it stirs up a strong feeling.
Vocabulary lists containing affecting
Pay Attention! Synonyms for "Interesting"
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Krik? Krak!
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“From my point of view, the impact of global conflicts or wars does not seem to be affecting artists’ decisions very strongly for now,” they said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026
“I do think this fertility crisis is a really complex one where there are lots of reasons and related and unrelated factors that are affecting people’s decisions to have children.”
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026
Someone might have blepharospasms, a dystonia affecting the muscles around the eyes, which results in uncontrollable twitching and blinking.
From Slate • Apr. 18, 2026
Ford issued more recalls than any other automaker in 2025, affecting nearly 13 million vehicles, including recent software issues.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Hence a second set of factors consists of those affecting rates of diffusion and migration, which differed greatly among continents.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
