affective

1 of 2

adjective

af·​fec·​tive a-ˈfek-tiv 

1

: relating to, arising from, or influencing feelings or emotions : emotional

cognitive and affective symptoms

the novel's affective death scene

2

: expressing emotion

affective language

behaviors that elicit affective reactions

affectively adverb

affectivity

ˌa-ˌfek-ˈti-və-tē 

noun

affectivity

2 of 2

noun

af·​fec·​tiv·​i·​ty ˌa-ˌfek-ˈti-və-tē also ə- 

plural -es

: ability to feel emotions : the division of mental life and activity relating to the emotions : emotion

Examples of affective in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The review found meaningful relationships between leadership and affective contagion, including links to leader effectiveness and performance. — Gerald J. Leonard, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026

Throughout, the novel’s close-third snapshots of the characters’ inner lives display a moral and affective nihilism. — Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 17 June 2026

Here, along with cognitive and affective variables, the choice of mass medium would play the most important role, with television and press the major focus of these studies. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026

Levy wrote a book about the way affective computing and other forms of biometric surveillance have been deployed in the trucking industry—a field that, due to its mobile and distributed workforce, was long immune to surveillance. — Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English affectif, borrowed from Middle French, borrowed from Late Latin affectīvus, from Latin affectus, past participle of afficere "to produce an effect on, exert an influence on" + -īvus -ive — more at affect entry 1

Noun

affective + -ity

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1854, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing affective

• affective disorder
• schizo-affective
• seasonal affective disorder

Rhymes for affective

• advective
• collective
• connective
• convective
• corrective
• defective
• detective
• directive
• effective
• elective
• infective
• injective

Medical Definition

affective

adjective

af·​fec·​tive a-ˈfek-tiv 

: relating to, arising from, or influencing feelings or emotions : emotional

affective symptoms

affectively adverb

affectivity

ˌaf-ˌek-ˈtiv-ət-ē 

noun

plural affectivities