affinity

noun af·fin·i·ty \ ə-ˈfi-nə-tē \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: affinity in a Sentence

Definition of affinity

plural affinities

1 : relationship by marriage

2 a : sympathy marked by community of interest : kinship

She has an affinity to him because of their common musical interests.

b (1) : an attraction to or liking for something

people with an affinity to darkness
—Mark Twain

pork and fennel have a natural affinity for each other
—Abby Mandel

(2) : an attractive force between substances or particles that causes them to enter into and remain in chemical combination

c : a person especially of the opposite sex having a particular attraction for one

3 a : likeness based on relationship or causal connection

found an affinity between the teller of a tale and the craftsman
—Mary McCarthy

this investigation, with affinities to a case history, a psychoanalysis, a detective story
—Oliver Sacks

b : a relation between biological groups involving resemblance in structural plan and indicating a common origin

See affinity defined for English-language learners

See affinity defined for kids

Examples of affinity in a Sentence

Jefferson's personal debts continued to mount … . His addiction to French wine, like his affinity for French ideas, never came to grips with the more mundane realities. —Joseph J. Ellis, American Heritage, May/June 1993
… neither virus has an affinity for T cells. —Robert C. Gallo, Scientific American, 1987
Animals sharing this basic architecture may have no closer affinity than a beetle and a squid. —Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, 1985
There's always been an affinity between us.
He never felt any affinity with the other kids in his neighborhood.

Recent Examples of affinity from the Web

Doncic has been linked to the Sacramento Kings, who have the second overall pick, because of team President Vlade Divac’s affinity for European players.

— broderick turner, latimes.com, "Luka Doncic, Slovenia's Wonder Boy, is the wild card in NBA draft," 12 June 2018
Upshaw is also experienced in developing and delivering consumer solutions through direct affinity partnerships and direct-to-consumer applications using multichannel marketing techniques.

— miamiherald, "Meet the new members of our CEO Roundtable," 11 June 2018
Zaha seemingly has an affinity with the club, but he could be tempted by another crack at the top level after a disappointing past foray remains a blotch on his reputation.

— SI.com, "Spurs & Chelsea Suffer Setback in Chase for Wilfried Zaha as Palace Move to Keep Their Star Man," 30 May 2018
Viable candidates prevailed in all three, partly by emphasising their affinity with Mr Trump.

— The Economist, "Fringe candidates and House Republicans fare poorly," 10 May 2018
From Madonna’s affinity for crucifixes as accessories to Lady Gaga’s avant-garde take on a nun’s habit for her 2011 Monster Ball tour, here’s a look back on 15 iconic fashion moments that were inspired by Catholicism and its aesthetics.

— cady lang, Time, "15 Times Catholicism Inspired Iconic Fashion Moments," 4 May 2018
Florida State safety Derwin James will appeal more to Pace’s affinity for physical traits.

— rich campbell, chicagotribune.com, "Bears Big Board: Analyzing 6 potential draft candidates for the No. 8 pick," 25 Apr. 2018
And, presumably, President Trump’s affinity for that measure will force him to take notice.

— lu wang, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Facing ‘Dow Vigilantes’ in Stock Market Verdict on Tariffs," 6 Mar. 2018
But that piece of the NRA bundle has shrunk in recent days, as a slew of major companies have responded to a groundswell of anti-gun activism by canceling their discounts and other affinity deals with the gun lobby.

— marc fisher, Washington Post, "Why the NRA doesn’t much care if businesses spurn them," 2 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of affinity

Middle English affinite, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French affinité, borrowed from Latin affīnitāt-, affīnitās, from affīnis "bordering (on), related by marriage, connected (with)" (from ad- ad- + fīnis "boundary, limit") + -itāt-, -itās -ity — more at ¹final

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

affinity Synonyms

Synonyms

affection, aptitude, bent, bias, bone, devices, disposition, genius, habitude, impulse, inclination, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, turn;

Near Antonyms

allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, distaste;

detachment, impartiality, neutrality, objectivity;

apathy, disinterestedness, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern;

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, singularity;

Synonym Discussion of affinity

attraction, affinity, sympathy mean the relationship existing between things or persons that are naturally or involuntarily drawn together. attraction implies the possession by one thing of a quality that pulls another to it.

- felt an attraction to danger

affinity implies a susceptibility or predisposition on the part of the one drawn.

- an affinity for mathematics

sympathy implies a reciprocal or natural relation between two things that are both susceptible to the same influence.

- two minds in sympathy

AFFINITY Defined for English Language Learners

affinity

noun

Definition of affinity for English Language Learners

: a feeling of closeness and understanding that someone has for another person because of their similar qualities, ideas, or interests
: a liking for or an attraction to something
: a quality that makes people or things suited to each other