affordance

noun

af·​for·​dance ə-ˈfȯr-dᵊn(t)s 

plural affordances

: the quality or property of an object that defines its possible uses or makes clear how it can or should be used

We sit or stand on a chair because those affordances are fairly obvious.

—Scott Lafee

An affordance is a resource or support that the environment offers an animal; the animal in turn must possess the capabilities to perceive it and to use it.

—Eleanor J. Gibson et al.

Examples of affordance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Robots too will need physical affordances to interact with the world and accessories can be purpose built for specific tasks. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 May 2018

For example, Instagram’s affordances such as image sharing and algorithmic content promotion amplify social comparison, leading to body-shaming and self-esteem issues. —Abdulmalik Alluhidan, The Conversation, 19 Mar. 2025

Activity trackers, prior motivation, and perceived informational and motivational affordances National Library of Medicine. —Gabe Allen, Discover Magazine, 10 Feb. 2025

Lines have several interesting characteristics from the perspective of interaction design: abstractness of data representation; a variety of inherent interactions / affordances; and constraints as boundaries or borderlines. —Evan Ackerman, IEEE Spectrum, 13 Nov. 2015

Practically, then, the translator reads with an eye to understanding the affordances offered by a text—to re-creating its potentialities, rather than merely offering a lexical equivalent. —Max Norman, The New Yorker, 7 Dec. 2024

Although few crossovers are as direct as Theremin’s, the convergence of art and technology is a common theme, as is the attention to affordances – the ability to notice how techniques might be applied for alternative purposes – as much as the talent for reconnaissance. —Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024

Those are exactly the affordances that have accrued to the early platform companies that have built out their social media networks, built out their data centers. —Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 28 Aug. 2024

Across industries, the affordances and constraints of collaboration tools, whether physical spaces or digital platforms, shape how people work together. —Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 3 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

afford + -ance

Note: As a term in the study of cognition introduced by the American psychologist James J. Gibson (1904-79) in The Senses Considered as Perceptual Systems (Boston, 1966) and later essays.

First Known Use

1966, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for affordance

• accordance
• concordance
• discordance