affair

noun

af·fair | \ ə-ˈfer

Definition of affair

1a 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

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about affair

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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

But rumors swirled that Lionel was having an affair and the couple separated. — Marie Milano, Country Living, "A Detailed Timeline of Lionel Richie's Marriages and Relationships," 3 Mar. 2019 At the time, Clinton’s affair with Lewinsky wasn’t publicly known. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "The drama over Trump answering Mueller’s questions, explained," 20 Nov. 2018 Before converting from Democratic operative to news anchor, Stephanopoulos famously pushed back against rumors of Clinton’s infidelities and once captured on film bullying a reporter into killing a story about one of Clinton’s affairs. — Brian Flood, Fox News, "George Stephanopoulos slammed for saying Trump always sides with men on sexual misconduct claims," 25 Sep. 2018 The two hit the road together in 2006 — which included a stop at DTE Energy Music Theatre — but this summer’s affair is scaled up. — Brian Mccollum, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit still has open arms for Journey as band arrives with Def Leppard," 12 July 2018 No baseball players feel the physical tolls of the sport more than catchers, and no Giants player felt the wear and tear of Wednesday’s extra-inning affair more than Buster Posey. — Kerry Crowley, sacbee, "Buster Posey has hip pain, but he has Giants feeling good in walkoff win over Cubs," 11 July 2018 For the multi-day affair, Chopra wore multiple wedding dresses, including a traditional Ralph Lauren gown covered in 2,380,000 mother of pearl sequins. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Priyanka Chopra's Custom Red Dior Wedding Gown Is Exquisite," 28 Dec. 2018 Engines go from naturally aspirated to turbocharged, then back to naturally aspirated, then eventually become the hybrid affairs that race today. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Ars Technica’s best games of 2018," 24 Dec. 2018 Broadly speaking, epic fantasy feels most at home in a pre-industrial world, and doesn’t usually concern itself with the affairs of things like corporations or the ethics of capitalism that came with industrialization. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Foundryside is a cyberpunk adventure wrapped in an epic fantasy novel," 23 Dec. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'affair.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for affair

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