affair
[noun]
Synonyms:
- event, activity, business, episode, happening, incident, matter, occurrence
- relationship, amour, intrigue, liaison, romance

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Related Idioms: cup of tea
Related Words: care, lookout, responsibility, pie, proceeding

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English Thesaurus: event, occurrence, incident, occasion, affair, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

af‧fair S2 W1 /əˈfeə $ əˈfer/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French; Origin: afaire, from à faire 'to do']

1. PUBLIC/POLITICAL ACTIVITIES affairs [plural]
a) public or political events and activities:
Are you interested in world affairs?
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Women had little role in public affairs.
b) things connected with your personal life, your financial situation etc:
I am not prepared to discuss my financial affairs with the press. ⇒ state of affairs at state¹(8)

2. EVENT
a) an event or set of related events, especially one that is impressive or shocking:
the Watergate affair
The whole affair was a disaster.
b) used when describing an event:
The party was a very grand affair.

3. RELATIONSHIP a secret sexual relationship between two people, when at least one of them is married to someone else Synonym : love affair
affair with
He had an affair with his boss that lasted six years.

4. OBJECT informal old-fashioned used when describing an object, machine etc:
The computer was one of those little portable affairs.

5. be sb’s affair if something is your affair, it only concerns you and you do not want anyone else to get involved in it:
What I do in my free time is my affair.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

affair
noun
I. event/situation
ADJ. whole She saw the whole affair as a great joke.
glittering, grand I knew that the wedding would be a grand affair.
sordid, sorry, squalid
VERB + AFFAIR deal with, handle Many people have criticized the way the government handled the affair.
be involved in | investigate
PHRASES sb's involvement in the affair He has tried to play down his involvement in the affair.
a state of affairs How did this state of affairs come about?
wash your hands of the affair (= to refuse to be responsible for sth or involved in sth)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

affair
II. sexual relationship
ADJ. brief, casual | clandestine, secret | adulterous, extramarital | passionate, torrid | unhappy | love a torrid love affair
VERB + AFFAIR carry on, conduct, have He's having an affair with a colleague.
AFFAIR + VERB go on How long has the affair been going on?
PREP. ~ between It's the story of a secret affair between a married teacher and her teenage student.
~ with an affair with a married man

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

affair
III. sth that concerns one person/small group
ADJ. family, personal, sb's own It's a family affair.
PHRASES sb's affair What I do at the weekend is my affair.
no affair of sb's That's no affair of yours.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

affair
IV. affairs: important matters
ADJ. current a current affairs programme on television
private, public | domestic, home, internal, national | community, local | European, foreign, external, international, world the minister for foreign affairs
business, financial, legal | commercial, consumer, cultural, economic, environmental, military, political, religious, social
VERB + AFFAIR administer, arrange, attend to, conduct, manage, run I am trying to arrange my father's financial affairs.
settle, wind up | interfere in, meddle in
PHRASES affairs of state The Cabinet will be discussing certain affairs of state.
put/set your affairs in order I want to put my affairs in order before I die.
a state of affairs the current state of affairs in schools

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

affair

world/international affairs
China is now a major player in world affairs.
current affairs (=important events that are happening now)
a 24-hour news and current affairs channel
sb’s private affairs (=things that are personal and not for other people to know about)
He never discussed his private affairs in public.
sb’s financial affairs
They offer advice on managing your financial affairs.
sb’s business affairs
After dad retired, I managed his estate and business affairs.
economic affairs
He was appointed Minister of State with responsibility for economic affairs.
political affairs
The military promised to stay out of political affairs.
military affairs
the president’s advisor on military affairs
religious affairs
She wanted to be more involved in the church and religious affairs.
foreign/external affairs (=events in other countries)
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
domestic/internal affairs (also home affairs British English) (=events inside a country)
the Minister of Home Affairs
He said that the US should not try to interfere in his country's domestic affairs.
public affairs (=events that affect the people of a country)
He was active in public affairs in his region.
affairs of state (=the business of the government)
The church played no role in the affairs of state.
put your affairs in order (=organize them before you go somewhere or die)
I have cancer so I know I’ve got to put my affairs in order.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

event something that happens, especially something important, interesting, or unusual:
He spoke of the tragic event in which more than 100 people died.
recent political events
occurrence /əˈkʌrəns $ əˈkʌrəns/ formal something that happens – used especially when saying how often something happens:
Divorce is a common occurrence these days.
Storms like this one are fortunately a rare occurrence.
Accidents are almost a daily occurrence on this road.
incident something that happens, especially something that is unusual or unpleasant, or something that is one of several events:
He died after a violent incident outside a nightclub.
This latest incident could put an end to his career.
occasion an important social event or celebration:
She only wore the dress for special occasions.
It was his 100th birthday, and friends and family gathered to mark the occasion.
affair [usually singular] something that happens, especially something shocking in political or public life which involves several people and events:
The affair has caused people to lose confidence in their government.
phenomenon /fɪˈnɒmənən, fɪˈnɒmɪnən $ fɪˈnɑːmənɑːn, -nən/ something that happens or exists in society, science, or nature, especially something that is studied because it is difficult to understand:
natural phenomena such as earthquakes
Homelessness is not a new phenomenon.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

relationship when two people spend time together or live together because they are romantically or sexually attracted to each other:
After her marriage broke up, she had a series of disastrous relationships.
⇒ relationship with:
I don’t want to start a relationship with her, because I’m going back to South Africa.
⇒ relationship between:
Relationships between people of different cultures are often extremely difficult.
⇒ be in a relationship:
Why are all the interesting men I meet already in relationships?
⇒ sexual relationship:
Several of the psychiatrists admitted to having sexual relationships with patients.
⇒ romantic relationship:
Even at 35, Bobby seemed unable to commit to a romantic relationship.
affair a secret sexual relationship between two people, when one or both of them is married to someone else:
The affair had been going on for years before her husband found out.
⇒ affair with:
I had no idea that Mike had an affair with Carolyn!
⇒ love affair:
Burton had been involved in a love affair with a woman who ended up taking most of his money.
fling a short and not very serious relationship:
Yes, I did go out with him, but it was just a fling.
She wasn’t interested in anything more than a casual fling.
⇒ fling with:
She left her husband after she learned about his fling with an exotic dancer.
⇒ have a fling:
They had a fling years ago.
romance an exciting and often short relationship between two people who feel very much in love with each other:
It was a beautiful summer romance, but they knew it couldn’t last.
Richard and Penny had made no great secret of their romance, even though they were both married.
⇒ romance with:
My romance with Lois did not survive our high school graduation.
be in a relationship
Valerie and I have been in a relationship for five years.
end/break off a relationship
She was very upset when I ended the relationship.
start/begin a relationship
She is in no hurry to start another relationship.
a sexual relationship
He admitted having a sexual relationship with a patient.
a serious/steady relationship (=one that lasts quite a long time)
It was his first serious relationship.
a long-term relationship
I have a seven-year-old daughter from a previous long-term relationship.
an on-off relationship (=happening sometimes and not at other times)
Their on-off relationship seemed to have come to an end two years ago.
a stormy/turbulent relationship (=one that involves many arguments)
It had been a stormy relationship and there were frequent drunken rows.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

throw to make something such as a ball or stone move quickly through the air using your hand:
I threw the ball back to him.
Protestors began throwing stones at the police.
I just threw the letter in the bin.
toss (also chuck) informal to throw something, especially in a careless way without using much effort:
She tossed her coat onto the bed.
Can you chuck me the remote control?
hurl to throw something with a lot of force:
Someone hurled a brick through his window.
fling to angrily throw something somewhere with a lot of force, or to carelessly throw something somewhere because you have very little time:
He flung her keys into the river.
I flung a few things into a suitcase.
heave /hiːv/ to throw something heavy using a lot of effort:
They heaved the log into the river.
lob to throw something high into the air over someone or something:
The police lobbed tear gas canisters over the heads of the demonstrators.
relationship when two people spend time together or live together because they are romantically or sexually attracted to each other:
After her marriage broke up, she had a series of disastrous relationships.
⇒ relationship with:
I don’t want to start a relationship with her, because I’m going back to South Africa.
⇒ relationship between:
Relationships between people of different cultures are often extremely difficult.
⇒ be in a relationship:
Why are all the interesting men I meet already in relationships?
⇒ sexual relationship:
Several of the psychiatrists admitted to having sexual relationships with patients.
⇒ romantic relationship:
Even at 35, Bobby seemed unable to commit to a romantic relationship.
affair a secret sexual relationship between two people, when one or both of them is married to someone else:
The affair had been going on for years before her husband found out.
⇒ affair with:
I had no idea that Mike had an affair with Carolyn!
⇒ love affair:
Burton had been involved in a love affair with a woman who ended up taking most of his money.
romance an exciting and often short relationship between two people who feel very much in love with each other:
It was a beautiful summer romance, but they knew it couldn’t last.
Richard and Penny had made no great secret of their romance, even though they were both married.
⇒ romance with:
My romance with Lois did not survive our high school graduation.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

affair
əˈfɛə
See: love affair

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲