affective

1 of 2

adjective

af·​fec·​tive a-ˈfek-tiv How to pronounce affective (audio)
1
: relating to, arising from, or influencing feelings or emotions : emotional
cognitive and affective symptoms
the novel's affective death scene
2
: expressing emotion
affective language
behaviors that elicit affective reactions
affectively adverb
affectivity
ˌa-ˌfek-ˈti-və-tē How to pronounce affective (audio)
noun

affectivity

2 of 2

noun

af·​fec·​tiv·​i·​ty ˌa-ˌfek-ˈti-və-tē also ə- How to pronounce affectivity (audio)
plural -es
: ability to feel emotions : the division of mental life and activity relating to the emotions : emotion

Examples of affective in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Throughout, the novel’s close-third snapshots of the characters’ inner lives display a moral and affective nihilism. — Hannah Gold, New Yorker, 17 June 2026 In what is called racial mirroring, people have a tendency to feel affective resonance with agents that look like them, the researchers explain in the preprint. — Deni Ellis Béchard, Scientific American, 8 Apr. 2026 Here, along with cognitive and affective variables, the choice of mass medium would play the most important role, with television and press the major focus of these studies. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 8 May 2026 The canvases create confusingly affective echoes of defense tech’s cultural force-memeing. — Simon Denny, Artforum, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for affective

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English affectif, borrowed from Middle French, borrowed from Late Latin affectīvus, from Latin affectus, past participle of afficere "to produce an effect on, exert an influence on" + -īvus -ive — more at affect entry 1

Noun

affective + -ity

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1854, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of affective was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing affective

Rhymes for affective

See All Rhymes for affective

Browse Nearby Words

affectioned
affective
affective disorder
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Affective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affective. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Medical Definition

affective

adjective
af·​fec·​tive a-ˈfek-tiv How to pronounce affective (audio)
: relating to, arising from, or influencing feelings or emotions : emotional
affective symptoms
affectively adverb
affectivity
ˌaf-ˌek-ˈtiv-ət-ē How to pronounce affective (audio)
noun
plural affectivities

More from Merriam-Webster on affective

Nglish: Translation of affective for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All