Affectations

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An artificial habit or behavior adopted to impress others
2. a mannerism or style that is meant to show sophistication or taste
3. a display of feelings or emotions that may not be genuinely felt, often to create a particular impression

Etymology: "Affectations" is the plural of "affectation," which comes from Middle French "affectation," itself from Latin "affectātiōnem," the accusative of "affectātiō," meaning a striving after something or an assumed quality. The Latin noun derives from "affectō," meaning "to feign" or "to aim at," and that verb is the source of the English adjective "affected" in its sense of pretended. The word is built by surface analysis from "affect" plus the suffix "-ation," which turns a verb into a noun of action or state. So the core idea is an act of putting on a show. Latin "affectāre" carried the sense of reaching for something, aiming at it, or pretending to have it, and that double edge of ambition and pretence survives in the English word. Calling someone's manner an affectation is to say they are performing a quality they do not quite possess.

Synonyms: pretensions, insincerities, posturings, airs, mannerisms

Antonyms: genuineness, authenticity, sincerity, naturalness, honesty