affair

noun

An adulterous relationship, chiefly of a married person. (from affaire de cœur, affair of the heart).

An otherwise illicit romantic relationship, such as with someone who is not one's regular partner (boyfriend, girlfriend).

A person with whom someone has an adulterous relationship.

A party or social gathering, especially of a formal nature.

(often in the plural) Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public.

Any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely.

(military) An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle.

A material object (vaguely designated).

(slang, now rare) The (male or female) genitals.

Roots

facio-fair · Latin · make, do

Synonyms for affair

amourn mattern liaisonn relationshipn thingn incidentn romancen infidelityn flirtationn eventn

Synonyms & related words for affair

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of affair — including amour, matter, liaison, relationship, thing, incident. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to affair

Explore words related to affair — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include affaire, involvement, extramarital, intimacy, dalliance, trysts, tryster, scandal. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for affair

Common synonyms for affair include amour, matter, liaison, relationship, thing, incident, romance, infidelity — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does affair come from?

The word affair breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -fair, from Latin facio (“make, do”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.