affiliate

verb af·fil·i·ate \ ə-ˈfi-lē-ˌāt \

|Updated on: 13 Jun 2018

Examples: affiliate in a Sentence

Definition of affiliate

affiliated; affiliating

transitive verb

1 a : to bring or receive into close connection as a member or branch

The medical school is affiliated with a hospital.

b : to associate as a member

affiliates herself with the local club

2 : to trace the origin of

affiliated Shakespeare's "Hamlet" to earlier plays

intransitive verb

: to connect or associate oneself : combine

refused to affiliate with any political party

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affiliation

play \ə-ˌfi-lē-ˈā-shən\ noun

See affiliate defined for English-language learners

See affiliate defined for kids

Examples of affiliate in a Sentence

Their group does not affiliate itself with any political party.

Recent Examples of affiliate from the Web

Through his attorneys during the trial, Moscatiello denied being affiliated with mobsters.

— rafael olmeda, Sun-Sentinel.com, "New trial ordered for convicted killer in Gus Boulis murder," 7 June 2018
Most of the mostly young protesters are not affiliated with any political group and have so far avoided partisan or divisive language.

— taylor luck, The Christian Science Monitor, "Jordan's young protesters say they learned from Arab Spring mistakes," 5 June 2018
Local leaders would be selected to run the local council, which has been dominated for the last few years by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, a group closely affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

— New York Times, "U.S. and Turkey Agree on Kurds’ Withdrawal From Syrian Town," 4 June 2018
Not publicly affiliated with any political party, Tria had previously urged caution in regards to the incoming Conte government's plan for a universal basic income.

— lauren said-moorhouse and gianluca mezzofiore, CNN, "Meet the populist players about to take power in Italy," 1 June 2018
Many of Malaysia’s main television networks and newspapers continue to be either state-owned or affiliated with the government or political parties.

— james hookway, WSJ, "‘The Leash Is Off’: Malaysia Media Gets Scrappy After Autocrat’s Ouster," 1 June 2018
Israel has said that about 115 people, most of them affiliated with Hamas or other armed groups, were killed.

— noga tarnopolsky, latimes.com, "Palestinian groups, acting alone, announce cease-fire with Israel after latest Gaza violence," 30 May 2018
The Japan American Football Association says there are 421 teams in Japan, 210 of which are affiliated with colleges and universities.

— stephen wade, BostonGlobe.com, "Watch: This late hit on a college quarterback has all of Japan talking," 23 May 2018
One of them would allow voters registered as independent or not affiliated with a political party to cast ballots in primary elections.

— Philly.com, "New districts and plenty of candidates mean nothing without voter turnout Tuesday | Editorial," 14 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of affiliate

probably from French affilier "to bring into close connection" (going back to Middle French, "to adopt as a son," borrowed from Medieval Latin affīliāre, from Latin ad- ad- + -fīliāre, verbal derivative of fīlius "son") + ⁴-ate — more at ¹feminine

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1767

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

affiliate

noun af·fil·i·ate \ ə-ˈfi-lē-ət , -ˌāt \

Definition of affiliate

: an affiliated person or organization

the network's local affiliates

See affiliate defined for English-language learners

Examples of affiliate in a Sentence

Two of the company's regional affiliates lost money in the past year.
our local Humane Society is an affiliate of a national organization

Recent Examples of affiliate from the Web

The Aberdeen IronBirds, Short-A affiliate of the Orioles, and Harford County will host the Huk Bassmaster Elite at Upper Chesapeake Bay professional bass fishing tournament.

— baltimoresun.com, "Recreation and outdoors calendar (June 10)," 9 June 2018
The 4-acre site would be sold for $1 to an affiliate of the nonprofit Wisconsin Preservation Fund.

— tom daykin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Proposed Bay View stables to house Milwaukee Police Department horses, therapy horses," 7 June 2018
The military is now fighting both Islamic State and affiliates of al Qaeda across Libya and a range of other North and West African nations.

— jared malsin, WSJ, "U.S. Airstrike Kills Four Islamic State Members in Libya," 7 June 2018
Dear Abby: My brother-in-law died a month ago and was cremated by the local affiliate of a prominent funeral home.

— abigail van buren, Houston Chronicle, "Fake flower prompts emotional reaction from offended widow," 6 June 2018
Daubach was playing in the Florida Marlins’ farm system in 1997 and ’98, when the Knights were the Class AAA affiliate of the Marlins.

— steve lyttle, charlotteobserver, "6th player to be recognized in Charlotte Baseball Round Table of Honor," 6 June 2018
This time, with the Class-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, his favorite major league team.

— john canzano, OregonLive.com, "Canzano: How Portland lands a Major League Baseball team... expansion to relocation and back," 5 June 2018
Increasingly ambitious big science projects, such as a massive particle accelerator now under study, are a lure as well, says Cao Cong, a science policy specialist at the University of Nottingham Ningbo in China, an affiliate of the U.K. university.

— dennis normile, Science | AAAS, "With generous funding and top-tier jobs, China seeks to lure science talent from abroad," 5 June 2018
Sears is borrowing another $186 million from familiar sources: affiliates of Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment.

— lauren zumbach, chicagotribune.com, "Sears borrows $186 million from funds tied to CEO, Bill Gates to pay off debt," 4 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of affiliate

derivative of ¹affiliate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1793

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

affiliate Synonyms

Synonyms

branch, cell, chapter, council, local;

Related Words

arm, division, wing;

offshoot, subchapter;

lodge, post;

Other Broadcasting Terms

continuity, dissolve, fade, feed, remote, residual, spike, wipe

AFFILIATE Defined for English Language Learners

affiliate

verb

Definition of affiliate for English Language Learners

: to closely connect (something or yourself) with or to something (such as a program or organization) as a member or partner

affiliate

noun

Definition of affiliate for English Language Learners

: an organization (such as a television station) that is a member of a larger organization (such as a national network)

AFFILIATE Defined for Kids

affiliate

verb af·fil·i·ate \ ə-ˈfi-lē-ˌāt \

Definition of affiliate for Students

affiliated; affiliating

: to associate as a member or partner

The spokesperson has long been affiliated with the charity.

Law Dictionary

affiliate

verb af·fil·i·ate \ ə-ˈfi-lē-ˌāt \

legal Definition of affiliate

affiliated; affiliating

transitive verb

1 : to bring or receive into close association as a member or division

2 : to join or associate as a member or division

intransitive verb

: to connect or associate oneself —usually used with with

has just affiliated with the huge corporation

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affiliation

play \ə-ˌfi-lē-ˈā-shən\ noun

affiliate

noun af·fil·i·ate \ ə-ˈfi-lē-ət \

legal Definition of affiliate

: an affiliated person or organization; specifically : a business entity effectively controlling or controlled by another or associated with others under common ownership or control — compare parent 2, subsidiary