affective

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 noun

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.
The review found meaningful relationships between leadership and affective contagion, including links to leader effectiveness and performance. Gerald J. Leonard, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 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 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 Levy wrote a book about the way affective computing and other forms of biometric surveillance have been deployed in the trucking industry—a field that, due to its mobile and distributed workforce, was long immune to surveillance. Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 3 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for affective

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Affective.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affective. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.

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 noun
plural affectivities

More from Merriam-Webster on affective

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

More from Merriam-Webster