affection

The word “affection” means a feeling of fondness, warmth, or love toward someone. In plain terms, warm, caring feelings toward someone — softer and less intense than romantic love, though it can include it.

“Affection” is pronounced uh-FEHK-shuhn (/əˈfɛk.ʃən/ in IPA).

Here is “affection” used in a sentence: “He showed real affection for his younger siblings.”

“Affection” is a noun.

The word “affection” comes from Latin. From Old French affection, from Latin affectio, related to the verb affect — originally meaning any state or change brought on by an emotion.

“Affection” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Affection is a feeling of fondness, warmth, and caring toward someone. It is generally gentler and less intense than love, which is a deeper and stronger emotional bond; you can feel affection for a friend or a pet without describing it as love.

The two are very close in meaning, and both express a warm liking for someone. 'Affection' often suggests a slightly warmer, more tender emotion that may be shown openly, while 'fondness' emphasises simply liking someone or something.

Affection is a warm, caring fondness for someone. Attraction is the feeling of being drawn to a person, often physically or romantically, so you can feel affection without attraction, as with family members or close friends.

'Affection' is usually followed by 'for', as in 'she has great affection for her grandparents'. You may also see 'affection toward' or 'affection towards' someone with a similar meaning.