affected

/əˈfɛktɪd/

//əˈfɛktɪd// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"affected" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“affected” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,277. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,277
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Influenced or changed by something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-affected · affected · English

affected · rank #2,277 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,277
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH acts

Nearest frequency peer: acts (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “affected”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “affected” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

affected vs afflicted
78% similar
affected vs affect
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for affected
PropertyValue
Headwordaffected
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈfɛktɪd/
Letters8
Frequency rank#2,277
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “affected” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).affectedlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “acts” (#2,276), “aircraft” (#2,278), “urban” (#2,275). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around affected (IPA /əˈfɛktɪd/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #2,277 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for affected, with forms such as "afected", "afefcted", and "affceted". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "afflicted", "affect", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is affected, spelled A-F-F-E-C-T-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Influenced or changed by something.
  2. 2
    Simulated in order to impress.
  3. 3
    Emotionally moved; touched.
  4. 4
    adfected.
  5. 5
    Resulting from a mostly negative physical effect or transformation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how affected appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The affected products had to be recalled.
  2. He spoke with an affected English accent.

This word in other languages

afectado(Español)affecté(Français)betroffen(Deutsch)afetado(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afected
  • afefcted
  • affceted
  • affeccted
  • affecetd
  • affectde
  • affectedd
  • affectted
  • affetced
  • fafected

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of affected - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

afected1afefcted2affceted2affeccted1affecetd2affectde2affectedd1affectted1
Edit distance from "affected"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "affected"?
"affected" is spelled A-F-F-E-C-T-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈfɛktɪd/.
What does "affected" mean?
As an adjective, "affected" means: Influenced or changed by something.
What words are commonly confused with "affected"?
"affected" is commonly confused with "afflicted", "affect". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "affected"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "affected" is /əˈfɛktɪd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "affected" come from?
"affected" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "affected", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

aircraft#2,278approved#2,280argument#2,282arrested#2,283

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

twenty10 variantsclaimed10 variantsjourney10 variantslights10 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "affected". Here's where to go from here.

  • "affected" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "afflicted". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #2,277 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list