affair

noun

af·​fair ə-ˈfer How to pronounce affair (audio)
1
a
affairs plural : commercial, professional, public, or personal business
handles the company's public affairs
an expert in foreign affairs
b
: matter, concern
How I choose to live is my affair, not yours.
2
: a procedure, action, or occasion only vaguely specified
also : an object or collection of objects only vaguely specified
Their house was a 2-story affair.
3
or less commonly affaire
a
: a romantic or passionate attachment typically of limited duration : liaison sense 2b
had an affair with a coworker
b
: a matter occasioning public anxiety, controversy, or scandal : case
the Watergate affair of the early 1970s

Examples of affair in a Sentence

After the war, the government focused on its own domestic affairs. They accused the U.S. of interfering in the internal affairs of other nations. How I choose to live is my affair, not yours. adulterous affairs between married men and single women
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
My party and the government will be responsible for the management of the country’s affairs in the future. New York Times, 7 Dec. 2024 Musk didn’t respond to a request for comment, nor did Tim Hughes, senior vice president for global business and government affairs. Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2024 Now training these massive models is more of a one-time affair that requires considerable computing power and Nvidia has been the biggest beneficiary of this, as its GPUs are regarded as the fastest and most efficient for these tasks. Trefis Team, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2024 At the same time, the Russians should know best about the desolate state of affairs inside the Syrian security and military apparatus. Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for affair 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English aferes "activities," affaire "enterprise," borrowed from Anglo-French afaire, affere "business, activity, enterprise, matter, topic, situation," from the phrase a faire "to do," from a "to" (going back to Latin ad) + faire "to do," going back to Latin facere — more at at entry 1, do entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of affair was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near affair

Cite this Entry

“Affair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affair. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

affair

noun
af·​fair ə-ˈfa(ə)r How to pronounce affair (audio)
-ˈfe(ə)r
1
a
plural : commercial, professional, public, or personal business
government affairs
arranged my affairs before leaving
b
: concern entry 2 sense 1, matter
not your affair at all
2
a
: event sense 1b, activity
a social affair
b
: product sense 2, thing
the house was a two-story affair
3
: a brief romantic relationship

More from Merriam-Webster on affair

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