affair

noun

af·​fair ə-ˈfer How to pronounce affair (audio)
1
a
affairs plural : commercial, professional, public, or personal business
handles the company's public affairs
an expert in foreign affairs
b
: matter, concern
How I choose to live is my affair, not yours.
2
: a procedure, action, or occasion only vaguely specified
also : an object or collection of objects only vaguely specified
Their house was a 2-story affair.
3
or less commonly affaire
a
: a romantic or passionate attachment typically of limited duration : liaison sense 2b
had an affair with a coworker
b
: a matter occasioning public anxiety, controversy, or scandal : case
the Watergate affair of the early 1970s

Examples of affair in a Sentence

After the war, the government focused on its own domestic affairs. They accused the U.S. of interfering in the internal affairs of other nations. How I choose to live is my affair, not yours. adulterous affairs between married men and single women
Recent Examples on the Web Piper plays the flagship current affairs program’s real-life booker Sam McAlister, whose tenacity in 2019 is credited with placing Emily Maitlis inside Buckingham Palace opposite the soon-to-be former HRH for an hour of monarchy-shaking, fury-inducing, history-making television. Giles Hattersley, Vogue, 25 Mar. 2024 Still, Washington would remain closely involved in Haiti’s affairs, funding development but also supporting despots who promised to back U.S. interests. Matthew Brown, Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2024 Shanahan and Musk both denied the affair, but the Journal stood by its reporting. James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024 Lady Rose Hanbury was not amused by Stephen Colbert's jokes about those Prince William affair rumors from 2019. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 23 Mar. 2024 The Bee’s investigation found the police department and Sheriff’s Office had each not yet released internal affairs disciplinary documents for at least 50 incidents that had taken place since Jan. 1, 2019. Theresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2024 Yet the calm, even amid the devastating war in Gaza, is serving as proof that close security coordination – and allowing Islamic site officials to manage their own affairs – can facilitate peaceful prayers. Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Mar. 2024 A lot of public domain data is antiquated—in the US, for example, copyright protection usually lasts over 70 years from the death of the author—so this type of dataset won’t be able to ground an AI model in current affairs or, say, how to spin up a blog post using current slang. Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024 Streaming With the Stars was an intimate affair for nearly 200 guests that was hosted by Rob Lowe. Elizabeth Taylor, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'affair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English aferes "activities," affaire "enterprise," borrowed from Anglo-French afaire, affere "business, activity, enterprise, matter, topic, situation," from the phrase a faire "to do," from a "to" (going back to Latin ad) + faire "to do," going back to Latin facere — more at at entry 1, do entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of affair was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near affair

Cite this Entry

“Affair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affair. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

affair

noun
af·​fair ə-ˈfa(ə)r How to pronounce affair (audio)
-ˈfe(ə)r
1
a
plural : commercial, professional, public, or personal business
government affairs
arranged my affairs before leaving
b
: concern entry 2 sense 1, matter
not your affair at all
2
a
: event sense 1b, activity
a social affair
b
: product sense 2, thing
the house was a two-story affair
3
: a brief romantic relationship

More from Merriam-Webster on affair

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