affection

[əˈfɛkʃən]

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An affection is a strong feeling of love and care for someone or something. It's often used to describe a deep connection between people.

When we talk about affections, we usually mean the feelings we have for family members, close friends, or romantic partners. We might say "I have a great affection for my grandmother" to mean that I really care about her and enjoy spending time with her. Or we might say "My cat has an endearing affection for me" to describe how our pet loves us back just as much as we love it. The word can also be used to talk about things like favorite hobbies or activities, but in those cases it's more about the pleasure or enjoyment you get from them.

How common is "affection"?

Word affection is considered uncommon in modern English.
It has a balanced usage among all categories: speech, fiction, newspapers and academic texts.

Definitions

noun

The act of affecting or acting upon.
The state of being affected, especially: a change in, or alteration of, the emotional state of a person or other animal, caused by a subjective affect (a subjective feeling or emotion), which arises in response to a stimulus which may result from either thought or perception.
An attribute; a quality or property; a condition.
An emotion; a feeling or natural impulse acting upon and swaying the mind.
A feeling of love or strong attachment.
Example: I have a lot of affection for my little sister.
Disease; morbid symptom; malady.