affection

1 a feeling of strong or constant regard for and dedication to someone an elderly couple showing their affection for each other by little acts of kindness Synonyms love, attachment, devotedness, devotion, fondness, passionRelated Words appetite, fancy, favor, like, liking, partiality, preference, relish, taste; craving, crush, desire, infatuation, longing, lust, yearning; ardor, eagerness, enthusiasm, fervor, zeal; appreciation, esteem, estimation, regard, respect; adoration, adulation, deification, idolatry, idolization, worship; allegiance, faithfulness, fealty, fidelity, loyalty, steadfastnessNear Antonyms allergy, animosity, antagonism, antipathy, aversion, disfavor, dislike, enmity, hostility; abhorrence, disgust, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion; misanthropyAntonyms abomination, hate, hatred, loathing, rancor

2 an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning born with a heart affection that later caused him problems Synonyms disease, ail, ailment, bug, complaint, complication, condition, disorder, distemper, distemperature, fever, ill, illness, infirmity, malady, sickness, troubleRelated Words contagion, contagious disease; contagium, infection; attack, bout, fit, spell; debility, decrepitude, feebleness, frailness, lameness, sickliness, unhealthiness, unsoundness, unwellness, weakness; malaise, matter, pip; epidemic, pest, pestilence, plagueNear Antonyms fitness, healthiness, heartiness, robustness, soundness, wholeness, wholesomeness; fettle, shapeAntonyms health, wellness

3 a habitual attraction to some activity or thing I'm rooting for the Cubs—just my natural affection for the underdog, I guess Synonyms inclination, affinity, aptitude, bent, bias, bone, devices, disposition, genius, habitude, impulse, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, proclivity, propensity, tendency, turnRelated Words favor, one-sidedness, partisanship, prejudice; 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, singularityNear Antonyms allergy, averseness, aversion, disfavor, disinclination, dislike, disliking, disrelish, distaste; detachment, impartiality, neutrality, objectivity; apathy, disinterestedness, indifference, insouciance, nonchalance, unconcern

4 something that sets apart an individual from others of the same kind religion, of one kind or another, is an affection common to every society known to have existed Synonyms characteristic, attribute, attribution, character, criterion, diagnostic, differentia, feature, fingerprint, hallmark, mark, marker, note, particularity, peculiarity, point, property, quality, specific, stamp, touch, traitRelated Words badge, indication, sign; emblem, symbol, token; charm, grace; excellence, merit, virtue; eccentricity, idiosyncrasy, oddity, quirk; individuality, singularity, uniqueness