affair

英 [ə'feə] 美[ə'fɛr]
  • n. 事情;事务;私事;(尤指关系不长久的)风流韵事

核心词汇中高频词CET6考研TEM4CET4

词态变化


复数: affairs;

中文词源


affair 事务

前缀af-同ad-, 去,往。-fair, 词根fact的法语变体。

英英释意


1. a vaguely specified concern;
"several matters to attend to"
"it is none of your affair"
"things are going well"
2. a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
3. a vaguely specified social event;
"the party was quite an affair"
"an occasion arranged to honor the president"
"a seemingly endless round of social functions"

英文词源


affair
affair: [13] Like ado, and of course to-do, affair originally meant literally ‘to do’. It was coined in Old French from the phrase à faire ‘to do’, and entered English via Anglo-Norman afere. The spelling affair was established by Caxton, who based it on the French model. The specific sense of a ‘love affair’ dates from the early 18th century.
=> fact
affair (n.)
c. 1300, "what one has to do," from Anglo-French afere, Old French afaire "business, event; rank, estate" (12c., Modern French affaire), from the infinitive phrase à faire "to do," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + facere "to do, make" (see factitious).

A Northern word originally, brought into general use and given a French spelling by Caxton (15c.). General sense of "vague proceedings" (in romance, war, etc.) first attested 1702. Meaning "an affair of the heart; a passionate episode" is from French affaire de coeur (itself attested in English from 1809); to have an affair with someone in this sense is by 1726, earlier have an affair of love:
'Tis manifeſtly contrary to the Law of Nature, that one Woman ſhould cohabit or have an Affair of Love with more than one Man at the ſame time. ["Pufendorf's Law of Nature and Nations," transl. J. Spavan, London, 1716]



Thus, in our dialect, a vicious man is a man of pleasure, a sharper is one that plays the whole game, a lady is said to have an affair, a gentleman to be a gallant, a rogue in business to be one that knows the world. By this means, we have no such things as sots, debauchees, whores, rogues, or the like, in the beau monde, who may enjoy their vices without incurring disagreeable appellations. [George Berkeley, "Alciphron or the Minute Philosopher," 1732]

同义词辨析


affair, business, matter, concern, thing

这些名词均含"事情"之意。

affair:含义较广,侧重指已发生或必须去做的任何事情或事务。复数形式多指重大或较复杂的事务。

business:通常指较重要或较难而又必须承担的事情,也可指商事。

matter:普通用词,着重指一件考虑中的或需要处理的事。

concern:往往强调与个人或团体利害有直接或重大关系的事。

thing:用作"事情"解时,词义较笼统、含糊,多用于指不很具体的事。

考试真题


These teams are gaining more power to run their own affairs.

出自-2017年6月阅读原文

Colleges exercise full control over their own financial affairs.

出自-2017年6月阅读原文

We are very proud of our accomplishments under the Greenlist system and we believe that we will prevail in these cases, Christopher Beard, director of public affairs for SC Johnson, said, while acknowledging that this has been an area that is difficult to navigate.

出自-2016年6月阅读原文

In the past, the young have eagerly participated in national service and civic affairs, often with lots of energy and idealism.

出自-2016年6月阅读原文

In October 2000, the same month the survey was taken, the Washington-based Center for Media and Public Affairs wrote in its publication Media Monitor that, in a recent month of TV news coverage of American youth, just 2% of teens were shown at home, and just 1% were portrayed in a work setting.

出自-2016年6月阅读原文

minister of social security, quickly commissioned a study to determine the causes of and possible cures for this disturbing stale of affairs.

出自-2014年6月阅读原文

We see the potential for capture and storage to play an integral role in reducing emissions," says Kim Corley, Shell's senior advisor of CO2 and environmental affairs.

出自-2012年6月阅读原文

We went through a dramatic shift," says Dawn Watkins, the vice president for student affairs.

出自-2011年6月阅读原文

More experience in worldly affairs.

出自-2014年6月听力原文

At the events, you can meet expert growers and discuss which ones will best suit your conditions, and because these are family affairs, children are well catered for with apple-themed fun and games.

2016年高考英语全国卷3 阅读理解 阅读C 原文

But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement.

2014年高考英语全国卷2 阅读理解 阅读B 原文

China's image is improving steadily, with more countries recognizing its role in international affairs.

2019年高考英语江苏卷 单项填空 原文

Delayed reward may be expected from news of public affairs, economic matters, social problems, science, education, and health.

2015年高考英语江苏卷 任务型阅读 原文

During my first quarter at university of California, riverside ucr, I thought that I wanted to study political science with its focus on international affairs, so that's what I applied for.

2016年高考英语浙江卷(6月) 阅读理解 七选五 原文

They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair.

2015年高考英语江苏卷 阅读理解 阅读D 原文

The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages, international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.

出自-2014年考研阅读原文

The traditional wedding is a long and colorful affair.

2016年考研真题(英语一)完形填空 Section Ⅰ

实用场景例句


I looked after my father's financial affairs.
我照管父亲的财务。

牛津词典

She wanted to put her affairs in order before she died.
她想在去世前把自己的事务安排妥当。

牛津词典

How I spend my money is my affair.
我如何用钱是我自己的事。

牛津词典

Her hat was an amazing affair with feathers and a huge brim.
她的帽子嵌着羽毛,帽檐很宽,真是件奇物。

牛津词典

world/international/business affairs
世界 / 国际 / 商业事务

牛津词典

an expert on foreign affairs (= political events in other countries)
外事专家

牛津词典

affairs of state
国务

牛津词典

The newspapers exaggerated the whole affair wildly.
报章毫无根据地夸大了整个事件。

牛津词典

The debate was a pretty disappointing affair.
那次辩论使人颇感失望。

牛津词典

She wanted the celebration to be a simple family affair .
她希望庆祝活动仅限于家人参加。

牛津词典

She is having an affair with her boss.
她跟老板有暧昧关系。

牛津词典

He tried dividing it into two bundles, tying them to his walking stick, and slinging the whole affair across his back.
他试着将它分成两包绑在他的拐棍上,然后把所有东西都挂在后背上。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

She was having an affair with someone at work.
她跟某一同事有染。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He does not want to interfere in the internal affairs of another country...
他不想干涉别国内政。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

With more details, here's our foreign affairs correspondent.
详细情况,请听我们外交事务记者的报道。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He was rational and consistent in the conduct of his affairs...
他处理私事时头脑清楚,始终如一。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The unexpectedness of my father's death meant that his affairs were not entirely in order.
家父的猝然离世留下了尚未完全安排妥当的身后事。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

If you wish to make a fool of yourself, that is your affair...
如果你想让自己出丑,那是你自己的事。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

If they want to stay and fight, then I guess that's their affair.
如果他们想留下来打架,我想那是他们自己的事。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Breakfast will be a cheerless affair for the Prime Minister this morning.
今天的早餐会让首相感觉全然无味。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

All their beds were distinctive; Mac's was an iron affair with brass knobs...
他们的床都各具特色;马克的床是张带球形黄铜柱头的铁家伙。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

...the damage caused to the CIA and FBI in the aftermath of the Watergate affair.
水门事件发生后给美国中央情报局和联邦调查局造成的不良影响

柯林斯高阶英语词典

...confidential Bank of England documents relating to the BCCI affair.
与国际信贷商业银行事务相关的英格兰银行的机密文件

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Michael said that his planned 10-day visit would be a purely private affair...
迈克尔说他所计划的10天访问纯属个人私事。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The government has mishandled the whole affair...
政府对整个事件处理不当。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The affair began when customs officials inspected a convoy of 60 tankers...
就在海关关员检查一个60艘油轮的船队时,事情发生了。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Reading and writing are important skills.
读和写是重要的技能.

辞典例句

He's denied having an affair with secretary but of course there's no smoke without fire.
他不承认他和他的秘书有染,但是无风不起浪啊.

《简明英汉词典》