affection

1 a feeling of strong or constant regard for and dedication to someone <an elderly couple showing their affection for each other by little acts of kindness> Synonyms love, attachment, devotedness, devotion, fondness, passionRelated Words appetite, fancy, favor, like, liking, partiality, preference, relish, taste; craving, crush, desire, infatuation, longing, lust, yearning; ardor, eagerness, enthusiasm, fervor, zeal; appreciation, esteem, estimation, regard, respect; adoration, adulation, deification, idolatry, idolization, worship; allegiance, faithfulness, fealty, fidelity, loyalty, steadfastnessNear Antonyms allergy, animosity, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, disfavor, dislike, enmity, hostility; abhorrence, disgust, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion; misanthropyAntonyms abomination, hate, hatred, loathing, rancor

2 an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning <born with a heart affection that later caused him problems> Synonyms disease, ail, ailment, bug, complaint, complication, condition, disorder, distemper, distemperature, fever, ill, illness, infirmity, malady, sickness, troubleRelated Words contagion, contagious disease; contagium, infection; attack, bout, fit, spell; debility, decrepitude, feebleness, frailness, lameness, sickliness, unhealthiness, unsoundness, unwellness, weakness; malaise, matter, pip; epidemic, pest, pestilence, plagueNear Antonyms fitness, healthiness, heartiness, robustness, soundness, wholeness, wholesomeness; fettle, shapeAntonyms health, wellness

3 a habitual attraction to some activity or thing <I'm rooting for the Cubs—just my natural affection for the underdog, I guess> Synonyms inclination, affinity, aptitude, bent, bias, bone, devices, disposition, genius, habitude, impulse, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, turnRelated Words favor, one-sidedness, partisanship, prejudice; endowment, faculty, flair, genius, gift, knack, talent; addiction, appetite, fancy, fondness, like, liking, preference, taste; forte, speciality, specialty; convention, custom, habit, pattern, practice (also practise), routine, trick, way, wont; eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, kink, oddity, peculiarity, quirk, singularityNear Antonyms allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, distaste; detachment, impartiality, neutrality, objectivity; apathy, disinterestedness, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern

4 something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind <religion, of one kind or another, is an affection common to every society known to have existed> Synonyms characteristic, attribute, attribution, character, criterion, diagnostic, differentia, feature, fingerprint, hallmark, mark, marker, note, particularity, peculiarity, point, property, quality, specific, stamp, touch, traitRelated Words badge, indication, sign; emblem, symbol, token; charm, grace; excellence, merit, virtue; eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, oddity, quirk; individuality, singularity, uniqueness