affiliate

1 of 2

verb

af·​fil·​i·​ate ə-ˈfi-lē-ˌāt 

affiliated; affiliating

transitive verb

1

a

: to bring or receive into close connection as a member or branch

The medical school is affiliated with a hospital.

b

: to associate as a member

affiliates herself with the local club

2

: to trace the origin of

affiliated Shakespeare's "Hamlet" to earlier plays

intransitive verb

: to connect or associate oneself : combine

refused to affiliate with any political party

affiliate

2 of 2

noun

af·​fil·​i·​ate ə-ˈfi-lē-ət 

-ˌāt

: an affiliated person or organization

the network's local affiliates

Synonyms

Noun

• branch
• cell
• chapter
• council
• local

Examples of affiliate in a Sentence

Verb

Their group does not affiliate itself with any political party.

Noun

Two of the company's regional affiliates lost money in the past year.

our local Humane Society is an affiliate of a national organization

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

More than half of funds raised for the RNC were funneled through a nonprofit affiliated with the city's conservative business lobby, which isn't disclosing donor names. —Hope Karnopp, Journal Sentinel, 15 Dec. 2024

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organizations with which the author is affiliated. —Aleksandra Bal, Forbes, 15 Dec. 2024

Noun

Fox broadcast affiliates saw an 8% increase in viewership from the month before, with Nielsen indicating the final three games of the Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series as well as NFL and college football games as the source of the jump. —Selome Hailu, Variety, 17 Dec. 2024

Some 150,000 people in Syria are unaccounted for, most of whom were kidnapped or detained by the Assad regime or its affiliates, according to the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). —Irene Nasser, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

probably from French affilier "to bring into close connection" (going back to Middle French, "to adopt as a son," borrowed from Medieval Latin affīliāre, from Latin ad- ad- + -fīliāre, verbal derivative of fīlius "son") + -ate entry 4 — more at feminine entry 1

Noun

derivative of affiliate entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

1767, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1793, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

affiliate

1 of 2 verb

af·​fil·​i·​ate ə-ˈfil-ē-ˌāt 

affiliated; affiliating

: to connect closely often as a member, branch, or associate

affiliation

-ˌfil-ē-ˈā-shən 

noun

affiliate

2 of 2 noun

af·​fil·​i·​ate ə-ˈfil-ē-ət 

: an affiliated person or organization

Legal Definition

affiliate

1 of 2 verb

af·​fil·​i·​ate ə-ˈfi-lē-ˌāt 

affiliated; affiliating

transitive verb

1

: to bring or receive into close association as a member or division

2

: to join or associate as a member or division

intransitive verb

: to connect or associate oneself

—usually used with with

has just affiliated with the huge corporation

affiliation

ə-ˌfi-lē-ˈā-shən 

noun

affiliate

2 of 2 noun

af·​fil·​i·​ate ə-ˈfi-lē-ət 

: an affiliated person or organization

specifically : a business entity effectively controlling or controlled by another or associated with others under common ownership or control compare parent sense 2, subsidiary