affair

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also

affaire

2 a social gathering the annual country club dance is a really fancy affair Synonyms party, bash, binge, blast, blowout, do, event, fete (or fête), function, get-together, powwow, reception, shindigRelated Words benefit, fund-raiser; ball, dance, formal, prom; celebration, gala, occasion; bacchanal, bacchanalia, orgy, saturnalia; bake, clambake, cocktail party, hen party, house party, housewarming, icebreaker, kaffeeklatsch, kegger (also keg party), klatch (also klatsch), masquerade, meet and greet, mixer, salon, shower, social, soiree (or soirée), stag, supper, symposium, tea, tea party

3 something produced by physical or intellectual effort the lead float in the parade was a pretty impressive affair, a giant eagle's head with equally huge wings Synonyms product, fruit, handiwork, labor, output, produce, production, thing, work, yieldRelated Words article, commodity, entry, object; goods, line, merchandise, wares; handcraft, handicraft; aftereffect, aftermath, conclusion, consequence, corollary, development, effect, issue, outcome, result, resultant, sequel, sequence, upshot; by-product, derivative, offshoot, offspring, outgrowth, residual, side effect (also side reaction), spin-off

4 something that happens the whole affair from start to finish took a total of 15 minutes Synonyms event, circumstance, episode, hap, happening, incident, occasion, occurrence, thingRelated Words coincidence, co-occurrence, fluke, freak; landmark, milepost, milestone, page, phenomenon, turning point; adventure, experience, time; happenchance, happenstance; accident, crisis, emergency, juncture; achievement, deed, exploit, feat; news, tidings

5 something to be dealt with it's none of your affair whom I'm going out with tonight Synonyms matter, business, thingRelated Words consideration, issue, problem; crisis, crossroad(s), crunch, emergency, exigency, flash point, head, juncture, strait, zero hour; concern, trouble, worry; care, lookout, responsibility; deadlock, halt, impasse, stalemate, standstill; corner, fix, hole, hot water, jam, pickle, pinch, predicament, scrape, spot