Affective

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈfɛktɪv/

Definitions

1. Pertaining to the experience or expression of emotions and moods
2. Connected with emotional responses or feelings rather than facts or logic
3. Involving or influencing emotional states or affective reactions

Etymology: The adjective "affective" grew from a Latin verb meaning "to act upon" or "to influence." Its root, "afficere," combined "ad-" (toward) with "facere" (to make or do), so the original sense was something like "to do something to" a person or thing. The past participle "affectus" came to mean "disposed" or "moved" in mind, which is how the idea of emotional state entered the family of words. Medieval Latin then formed "affectivus" from that participle, and English later borrowed the adjective. Its meaning followed the same shift: "affect" once described any influence on something, and by the time "affective" was formed, the emphasis had moved toward feelings and inner states. The suffix "-ive" simply marks a quality or tendency, so "affective" means having to do with that emotional side of experience.

Synonyms: emotional, feeling, sentimental, passionate, responsive

Antonyms: cognitive, intellectual, rational, logical, dispassionate