AFFINITY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does affinity mean? 

• AFFINITY (noun)
  The noun AFFINITY has 7 senses:

1. (immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody

2. (anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship

3. (biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or structural parts

4. a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character

5. the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule

6. inherent resemblance between persons or things

7. a natural attraction or feeling of kinship

  Familiarity information: AFFINITY used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AFFINITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

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

attraction; attractive force (the force by which one object attracts another)

Domain category:

immunology (the branch of medical science that studies the body's immune system)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

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

family relationship; kinship; relationship ((anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption)

Domain category:

anthropology (the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings)

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

steprelationship (a family relationship by virtue of remarriage)

Antonym:

consanguinity ((anthropology) related by blood)

Derivation:

affine ((anthropology) related by marriage)

Sense 3

Meaning:

(biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or structural parts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

affinity; phylogenetic relation

Context example:

in anatomical structure prehistoric man shows close affinity with modern humans

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

family relationship; kinship; relationship ((anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

affinity; kinship

Context example:

anthropology's kinship with the humanities

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

relation (an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together)

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

rapport; resonance (a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people)

sympathy (a relation of affinity or harmony between people; whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

affinity; chemical attraction

Context example:

basic dyes have an affinity for wool and silk

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

force ((physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Inherent resemblance between persons or things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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

resemblance (similarity in appearance or external or superficial details)

Sense 7

Meaning:

A natural attraction or feeling of kinship

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

James's affinity with Sam

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

attraction; attractiveness (the quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts)

 Context examples 

Acetylated histones have a reduced affinity for chromatin; this reduced histone-chromatin affinity may allow chromosomal unfolding, potentially enhancing the expression of genes related to tumor cell growth arrest and apoptosis.

(Arginine butyrate, NCI Thesaurus)

Double-stranded DNA or single-stranded RNA oligonucleotide sequences with the capacity to recognize target molecules with high affinity and specificity.

(Aptamer, NCI Thesaurus)

Medronic acid has affinity for and adheres to the surface of hydroxyapatite crystals in the bone matrix.

(Medronic Acid, NCI Thesaurus)

Two pharmacologically distinct high affinity melatonin receptors have been identified, Mel1 and Mel2, and Mel1 class receptors Mel1A, Mel1B, and Mel1C have been cloned.

(Melatonin Receptor, NCI Thesaurus)

The hydrochloride salt of memantine, a low-affinity, voltage-dependent, noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist.

(Memantine hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

This agent has little or no affinity for serotonin type 3 (5-HT3), dopamine, and corticosteroid receptors.

(Aprepitant, NCI Thesaurus)

Higher affinity binding is achieved by association with higher molecular mass, low-affinity neurotrophin receptors, namely the tropomyosin receptor kinases, TRKA (NTRK1), TRKB (NTRK2), and TRKC (NTRK3).

(Nerve Growth Factor Receptor, NCI Thesaurus)

A high affinity IgG1 monoclonal antibody with potential immunotherapeutic activity.

(Anti-CD45 Monoclonal Antibody AHN-12, NCI Thesaurus)

The fucose-free monoclonal antibodies enhance antigen dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), and increase binding affinity to the Fc Receptor to overcome genetic polymorphism.

(Anti-HB-EGF Monoclonal Antibody KHK2866, NCI Thesaurus)

Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)