af·fin·i·ty

(ə-fĭn′ĭ-tē)

n. pl. af·fin·i·ties

a. A natural attraction, liking, or feeling of kinship: a special affinity with animals; a cultural affinity for the automobile.

b. A natural tendency or ability to use or do something: an affinity with languages; an affinity for making money.

c. A natural compatibility of one thing with another: "the affinity of pork and shellfish" (Alison Arnett).

2. Relationship by marriage: related by affinity to the wife.

a. An inherent similarity between persons or things: "The genius of the Afro-Cubans lay in recognizing the affinity between swing-era jazz and their own tradition" (Gene Santoro).

b. Biology A relationship or resemblance in structure between species that suggests a common origin.

a. An attraction or force between particles or chemicals that causes them to combine.

b. The degree to which particles or chemicals are likely to combine: Hemoglobin has a high affinity for oxygen. Also called avidity.

[Middle English affinite, relationship by marriage, from Old French afinite, from Latin affīnitās, from affīnis, related by marriage; see affined.]

Usage Note: In the sense of "attraction," affinity may be followed by of, between, or with. Thus one may speak of the close affinity of James and Samuel, or of the affinity between James and Samuel, or of James's affinity with Samuel. In its chemical use affinity is generally followed by for: a dye with an affinity for synthetic fabrics. · One might want to avoid using affinity as a simple synonym for liking, since almost half of the Usage Panel in 2016 rejected the example Her affinity for living in California led her to reject a chance to return to New York. Nevertheless, the sophisticated tone of affinity can lend an archness to certain contexts, as when Barbara Tuchman writes of Kaiser Wilhelm's "affinity for coarse physical jokes practiced upon his courtiers." This may be why 79 percent of the Usage Panel approved of this quotation when it was presented as an example.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

affinity

(əˈfɪnɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. (foll by: with or for) a natural liking, taste, or inclination towards a person or thing

2. the person or thing so liked

3. a close similarity in appearance or quality; inherent likeness

4. relationship by marriage or by ties other than of blood, as by adoption. Compare consanguinity

5. (Biology) similarity in structure, form, etc, between different animals, plants, or languages

6. (Chemistry) chem

a. the tendency for two substances to combine; chemical attraction

b. a measure of the tendency of a chemical reaction to take place expressed in terms of the free energy change. Symbol: A

7. (Biochemistry) biology a measure of the degree of interaction between two molecules, such as an antigen and antibody or a hormone and its receptor

[C14: via Old French from Latin affīnitāt- connected by marriage, from affīnis bordering on, related]

afˈfinitive adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

af•fin•i•ty

(əˈfɪn ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties,
adj. n.

1. a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc.

2. the object of such liking or attraction.

3. relationship by marriage or by ties other than those of blood (disting. from consanguinity).

4. close resemblance, agreement, or connection.

5. a resemblance of structure or behavior that results from or implies a phylogenetic relationship.

6. the force by which atoms are held together in chemical compounds.

adj.

7. designating persons who share the same interests.

[1275–1325; < Middle French < Latin affīnitās connection by marriage. See affine, -ity]

af•fin′i•tive, adj.

affinity

the condition of close relationship. Cf. consanguinity. See also marriage.

See also: Relationship

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	affinity - (immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody immunology - the branch of medical science that studies the body's immune system attraction, attractive force - the force by which one object attracts another
	2.	affinity - (anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship anthropology - the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings family relationship, kinship, relationship - (anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption steprelationship - a family relationship by virtue of remarriage blood kinship, consanguinity, cognation - (anthropology) related by blood
	3.	affinity - (biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or structural parts; "in anatomical structure prehistoric man shows close affinity with modern humans" phylogenetic relation biological science, biology - the science that studies living organisms family relationship, kinship, relationship - (anthropology) relatedness or connection by blood or marriage or adoption
	4.	affinity - a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character; "found a natural affinity with the immigrants"; "felt a deep kinship with the other students"; "anthropology's kinship with the humanities" kinship relation - an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together rapport, resonance - a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people sympathy - a relation of affinity or harmony between people; whatever affects one correspondingly affects the other; "the two of them were in close sympathy"
	5.	affinity - the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule; "basic dyes have an affinity for wool and silk" chemical attraction force - (physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity; "force equals mass times acceleration"
	6.	affinity - inherent resemblance between persons or things resemblance - similarity in appearance or external or superficial details
	7.	affinity - a natural attraction or feeling of kinship; "an affinity for politics"; "the mysterious affinity between them"; "James's affinity with Sam" attractiveness, attraction - the quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts; "her personality held a strange attraction for him"

affinity

noun

1. attraction, liking, leaning, sympathy, inclination, rapport, fondness, partiality There is a natural affinity between the two.
attraction hostility, dislike, hatred, loathing, animosity, aversion, revulsion, antipathy, abhorrence, repugnance

2. similarity, relationship, relation, connection, alliance, correspondence, analogy, resemblance, closeness, likeness, compatibility, kinship The two plots share certain obvious affinities.
similarity difference, disparity, dissimilarity

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

affinity

noun

The quality or state of being alike:

alikeness, analogy, comparison, correspondence, likeness, parallelism, resemblance, similarity, similitude, uniformity, uniformness.

Translations

Affinität Beziehung

afinidad

mieltymyssukulainensukulaisuusviehtymys

affinité

afinitetsklonostsrodnostsrodstvo

affinit...affinità

affiniteitwelgezindheid

affinitet

afinidade

afinitate

близость привлекательность

affinity

[əˈfɪnɪtɪ] N

1. (= similarity, relationship) → afinidad f
A has certain affinities with B → entre A y B existe cierta afinidad

2. (= liking) → simpatía f
I feel no affinity whatsoever with or for him → no siento ninguna simpatía por él

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

affinity

[əˈfɪnɪti] n → affinité f
the strange affinity between man and nature → l'étrange affinité entre l'homme et la nature
to have an affinity with sb/sth → avoir des affinités avec qn/qch
to have an affinity for sth → être attiré(e) par qchaffinity card n carte de crédit émise en collaboration avec une association caritative et grâce à laquelle un pourcentage de chaque transaction est versé à cette association

affinity

(= liking) → Neigung f → (for, to zu); (for person) → Verbundenheit f → (for, to mit)

(= resemblance, connection) → Verwandtschaft f, → Affinität f (form)

(Chem) → Affinität f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

affinity

[əˈfɪnɪtɪ] n (relationship) → affinità f inv; (liking) → simpatia

af·fin·i·ty

n. afinidad, conformidad; conexión.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

'Do you believe in affinities, Miss Warden?' he said,

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In considering the Origin of Species, it is quite conceivable that a naturalist, reflecting on the mutual affinities of organic beings, on their embryological relations, their geographical distribution, geological succession, and other such facts, might come to the conclusion that each species had not been independently created, but had descended, like varieties, from other species.

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There existed between him and the old church so profound an instinctive sympathy, so many magnetic affinities, so many material affinities, that he adhered to it somewhat as a tortoise adheres to its shell.

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The iambic measure then replaced the trochaic tetrameter, which was originally employed when the poetry was of the Satyric order, and had greater affinities with dancing.

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She was a solvent powerful to reconcile all heterogeneous persons into one society: like air or water, an element of such a great range of affinities that it combines readily with a thousand substances.

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His power consists in the multitude of his affinities, in the fact that his life is intertwined with the whole chain of organic and inorganic being.

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When I stand among these mighty Leviathan skeletons, skulls, tusks, jaws, ribs, and vertebrae, all characterized by partial resemblances to the existing breeds of sea-monsters; but at the same time bearing on the other hand similar affinities to the annihilated antichronical Leviathans, their incalculable seniors; I am, by a flood, borne back to that wondrous period, ere time itself can be said to have begun; for time began with man.

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