Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Influenced by or resulting from the emotions.
  • adjective Concerned with or arousing feelings or emotions; emotional.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In psychology, relating to, characterized by, or consisting of affection: as, the affective side of the mental life; affective experience.
  • A mental complex of which affection is characteristic or in which it is dominant.
  • Affecting or exciting emotion; suited to affect.
  • Pertaining to the affections; emotional.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective obsolete Tending to affect; affecting.
  • adjective Pertaining to or exciting emotion; affectional; emotional.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Relating to, resulting from, or influenced by the emotions.
  • adjective Emotional; emotionally charged.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective characterized by emotion

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Medieval Latin affectivus, from Latin affectus, past participle of afficere ("to affect")

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Examples

  • Because representations attack it at what we call the affective phase and cause a resulting experience, a disturbance, to which disturbance is joined the image of threatened evil: this amounts to an affection and Reason seeks to extinguish it, to ban it as destructive to the well-being of the Soul which by the mere absence of such a condition is immune, the one possible cause of affection not being present.

    The Six Enneads. Plotinus 1952

  • Even Orbuch was surprised to find that men need what she calls affective affirmations - compliments, reassurances and other positive feedback - from their spouses more than women do from their husbands.

    billingsgazette.com 2010

  • Even Orbuch was surprised to find that men need what she calls affective affirmations - compliments, reassurances and other positive feedback - from their spouses more than women do from their husbands.

    billingsgazette.com 2010

  • He recognizes, of course, that affective is involved at some level either way — psychopath will not see any particular point to saving the five either — but in the cases where people give the classic deontological response, it seems like unreconstructed affect.

    The Starry Heavens Above and the Moral Law Within (the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex) 2006

  • I shouldnt be nodding my head in affective agreement with Tara on gender, Fred on Personal Profile Blogging and Internet StockBlog on Google vs Yahoo.

    Zillow my Pillow. Sleep gets Funding. Ben Barren 2006

  • He recognizes, of course, that affective is involved at some level either way — psychopath will not see any particular point to saving the five either — but in the cases where people give the classic deontological response, it seems like unreconstructed affect.

    The Starry Heavens Above and the Moral Law Within (the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex) 2006

  • I shouldnt be nodding my head in affective agreement with Tara on gender, Fred on Personal Profile Blogging and Internet StockBlog on Google vs Yahoo.

    Archive 2006-08-01 Ben Barren 2006

  • He recognizes, of course, that affective is involved at some level either wayââ?

    The Starry Heavens Above and the Moral Law Within (the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex) 2006

  • He recognizes, of course, that affective is involved at some level either wayââ?

    The Starry Heavens Above and the Moral Law Within (the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex) 2006

  • But Pender was a proponent of what was known as the affective interview, so he made sure to add an extra dollop of warmth to his voice as he returned the grin.

    The Girls He Adored Jonathan Nasaw 2001

Comments

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  • Excellent way to confuse clients that you work with... who says "affective?" A 25 cent word. It'll get you by, but be prepared - irritated professors will ask you to define it or distinguish it from mood and emotions. Then they'll put you on the spot for the different between flat and blunt affect. That is even better during rounds. And think, some of us are still just trying to keep affect (v.) from effect (n.).

    June 28, 2008

  • See usage note at affect.

    June 28, 2011