1
as in influences
to act upon (a person or a person's feelings) so as to cause a response
their son claims that scary movies don't affect him in the least
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in involves
to be the business or affair of
fortunately, hurricane season doesn't affect the West Coast
Synonyms & Similar Words
1
as in simulates
to present a false appearance of
she affected complete unawareness that we were talking about her, though she must have overheard
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in haunts
to go to or spend time in often
a power couple known to affect all the fancy parties in town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of affects
Laura Fay, CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026
Kalani has hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a form of brain injury that affects muscle tone and mobility.
—Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
This case involved a program called Family Reunification Parole, or FRP, and affects people from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras.
—Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2026
In Africa, Albinism affects 1 in 5,000 to 15,000 people according to UNICEF researchers.
—Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2026
This defeats the purpose of using a cheaper material and also affects energy and power densities.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 9 Jan. 2026
Further research on the molecular mechanisms behind how TNF-α affects dopamine and the immune system can offer new treatment strategies for meth addiction.
—Habibeh Khoshbouei, The Conversation, 9 Jan. 2026
This policy only affects those who do not now and have never been able to buy nicotine products.
—Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 8 Jan. 2026
Spina bifida is a type of neural tube defect (NTD) that affects the spine and is usually identified at birth.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 2025
Verb
Bird flu, a highly contagious airborne respiratory virus, affects poultry — including chickens, ducks and turkeys — and some wild bird species, including geese and shorebirds, the department said.
—Cite this Entry
“Affects.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affects. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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