1
as in strained
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
affected laughter at the boss's jokes an affected southern accent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arrogant
self-consciously trying to present an appearance of grandeur or importance
with her pinkie extended, the four-year-old held her tiny teacup in that affected manner that some women have
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in inclined
having a liking or affection
after years of being well affected toward their grandchildren, they did not want to lose access to them because of a bitter divorce
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in influenced
to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response
their son claims that scary movies don't affect him in the least
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in concerned
to be the business or affair of
fortunately, hurricane season doesn't affect the West Coast
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in pretended
to present a false appearance of
she affected complete unawareness that we were talking about her, though she must have overheard
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in haunted
to go to or spend time in often
a power couple known to affect all the fancy parties in town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of affected
Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026
In the city of San Diego, where light-rail trolley stations would be affected, the City Council voted unanimously earlier this month to take a similar go-slow approach.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2026
What specialty beverage products are affected by the recall?
—Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 26 May 2026
Over time, we have all been infected and affected by neoliberalism.
—Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Like many other young jazz artists of the period, however, he was deeply affected, not only by the playing, but by the lifestyles of the older beboppers who were his significant influences, many of whom had become addicted to drugs.
—Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
According to Oxford Economics, Japan and South Korea are among the countries most heavily affected by the current supply shortage.
—CNBC, 26 May 2026
About 56% of faculty reported AI had positively affected their teaching, research and administrative experience.
—Lee V. Gaines, NPR, 25 May 2026
Shortly after fire officials learned the seriousness of the threat, local authorities issued evacuation orders that affected about 40,000 of Garden Grove’s 172,000 residents, according to The Orange County Register.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 25 May 2026
Verb
But in recent years, Barcelona’s financial issues have affected every facet of the club, which appears to include its charity.
—Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 27 May 2026
In the city of San Diego, where light-rail trolley stations would be affected, the City Council voted unanimously earlier this month to take a similar go-slow approach.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2026
What specialty beverage products are affected by the recall?
—Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 26 May 2026
Over time, we have all been infected and affected by neoliberalism.
—Aisha Nyandoro, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Like many other young jazz artists of the period, however, he was deeply affected, not only by the playing, but by the lifestyles of the older beboppers who were his significant influences, many of whom had become addicted to drugs.
—Don Heckman, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
According to Oxford Economics, Japan and South Korea are among the countries most heavily affected by the current supply shortage.
—CNBC, 26 May 2026
About 56% of faculty reported AI had positively affected their teaching, research and administrative experience.
—Lee V. Gaines, NPR, 25 May 2026
Shortly after fire officials learned the seriousness of the threat, local authorities issued evacuation orders that affected about 40,000 of Garden Grove’s 172,000 residents, according to The Orange County Register.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affected
Adjective
-
Last year, Hernández played in just one rehab game returning from a strained groin.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
-
Large parts of its war effort are now unmanned, the robots, drones, and remotely piloted tanks giving it a sudden, albeit fragile, edge over a lumbering and strained Russian invader.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
Public policy decisions always need to strive for middle ground, and those leadership decisions often referred to as arrogant can just as easily be called principled leadership.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
23 May 2026
-
Some readers will probably hear a billionaire crediting luck and dismiss it as false modesty, the kind of thing people say to avoid sounding arrogant.—
Brandon Kochkodin,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Bids require openness, so when that vulnerability is met with hostility, people will be less inclined to reach out again.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
-
The resulting scene is spectacular, with the apartment’s inclined and polished floor giving rise to physical comedy of absurdist pathos in the vein of Jerry Lewis, and Corvette’s frantic struggle for traction revealing the earnest undertones of her fraught visit.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
But Serna and his coaches were also influenced by Kimball’s State double a year earlier.—
Scott M. Reid,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
-
Over the last decade, deep political divisions have influenced the way people view the nation’s history.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Across 2025-26, there are few outstanding contenders — a reflection upon, at least as far as the Premier League is concerned, a Newcastle campaign riddled with inconsistency and underperformance (for the most part).—
Chris Waugh,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
-
Persistent high interest rates also present a challenge since electrification benefits play out over time and high interest rates can spook companies concerned about short-term returns (or even survival).—
Justin Worland,
Time,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Faced with one of Musk’s seemingly impossible mandates, those strong employees rarely pretended to already know the solution.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
23 May 2026
-
His wife fell to the floor and pretended to be dead, and Little was pronounced dead at a hospital.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
In his brief time in WWE, Danhausen has already haunted (and defeated) the league’s former court-jester extraordinaire, The Miz (Miz, I’d argue, is the better in-ring performer), as well as YouTuber IShowSpeed, (Chad) Gable, Dominik Mysterio and Kit Wilson.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
27 May 2026
-
For more than three decades, the murder of Randy Gail Sperino haunted investigators in southern Illinois — a cold case centered on a young woman beaten to death and left in a rural field while her killer seemingly vanished without a trace.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Merlin Pilot system handles much more than a traditional autopilot, using a natural language processing model to listen to instructions from a mock air traffic controller and responding over the radio using a computerized female voice.—
Pete Muntean,
CNN Money,
24 May 2026
-
According to those reports, Pakistan Air Force J-10CE fighter jets faced Qatar’s Eurofighter Typhoons in a series of mock aerial engagements and emerged undefeated.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Affected.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affected. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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