Affectar

Affectar is a Spanish verb with several related meanings tied to producing an effect on something or someone, or to adopt a certain appearance or mood. It is a common term in everyday language and has cognate forms in related Romance languages (for example, Portuguese afetar).

Etymology and scope

Affectar derives from Latin affectare, from affectus, related to afficere. In Spanish, the verb arrived through the Romance language tradition and has developed a range of senses that overlap with other verbs for “to affect” or “to influence.”

Meanings and usage

One primary sense is to influence or have an impact on something or someone: for example, “La lluvia afecta la producción agrícola” (The rain affects agricultural production). A second sense is to pretend or simulate a mood, attitude, or demeanor, as in phrases like “afectar una sonrisa” or “afectar una actitud,” which can imply artificiality or stylization. A third sense concerns being affected by a condition or disease: “La enfermedad afecta a varias comunidades.” A fourth sense can describe affecting someone emotionally: “La noticia afectó a todos.” The word also appears in noun forms related to emotion or behavior, such as afectación or afectuoso, and the past tense forms (afectó) and participles (afectando) follow standard Spanish conjugation.

Relationship to other terms

Affectar is distinct from the noun afecto (affection, emotion) and from afectación (affectation or emotional state). The English equivalent is affect, though meanings diverge in nuance across languages. In medical Spanish, afectar commonly means to influence or impair rather than to imply intentional action.