AFFAIR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does affair mean? 

• AFFAIR (noun)
  The noun AFFAIR has 3 senses:

1. a vaguely specified concern

2. a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship

3. a vaguely specified social event

  Familiarity information: AFFAIR used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AFFAIR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A vaguely specified concern

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

affair; matter; thing

Context example:

things are going well

Hypernyms ("affair" is a kind of...):

concern (something that interests you because it is important or affects you)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "affair"):

least (something that is of no importance)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

affair; affaire; amour; intimacy; involvement; liaison

Hypernyms ("affair" is a kind of...):

sexual relationship (a relationship involving sexual intimacy)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A vaguely specified social event

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

affair; function; occasion; social function; social occasion

Context example:

a seemingly endless round of social functions

Hypernyms ("affair" is a kind of...):

social event (an event characteristic of persons forming groups)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "affair"):

party (an occasion on which people can assemble for social interaction and entertainment)

celebration; jubilation (a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event)

ceremonial; ceremonial occasion; ceremony; observance (a formal event performed on a special occasion)

fundraiser (a social function that is held for the purpose of raising money)

photo op; photo opportunity (an occasion that lends itself to (or is deliberately arranged for) taking photographs that provide favorable publicity for those who are photographed)

sleepover (an occasion of spending a night away from home or having a guest spend the night in your home (especially as a party for children))

 Context examples 

She knew nothing of the papers, nor of Mr. Oldacre’s private affairs.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

We shall then look thoroughly into the affair.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I tell you that there never was a shadow between us until this accursed affair began.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

However, I thought the matter over, and came to the conclusion that the best thing I could do would be to post them in affairs right up to date.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

“On the very day when I last saw him,” said I, “he told me that he had, and that his affairs were long since settled.”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

When driven with his mates to the new owners’ camp, Buck saw a slipshod and slovenly affair, tent half stretched, dishes unwashed, everything in disorder; also, he saw a woman.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

"Well, if he was, he finished himself off by that affair," Haythorne grumbled.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

I remembered the watch-tackle—a small double and single block affair—and fetched it.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

My brother, Sir James, was a man of very sensitive honour, and he could not survive such an affair.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“I am painfully situated, Utterson; my position is a very strange—a very strange one. It is one of those affairs that cannot be mended by talking.”

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)