affected
af·fect·ed/əˈfɛktɪd/adjective, noun, verb
affected is spelled A-F-F-E-C-T-E-D: 8 letters and 3 syllables (af·fect·ed). It appears 44 times per million words in written English, the 2,290th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, affected means “Influenced or changed by something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in affected?
| Letters | 8: A-F-F-E-C-T-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: af·fect·ed |
| In writing | 44 times per million words; the 2,290th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is affected?
Affected appears 44 times per million words in written English, the 2,290th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce affected?
- /əˈfɛktɪd/
Affected has 3 syllables, split af·fect·ed in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-affected.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of affected
- more affected comparative
- most affected superlative
- affecteds plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does affected mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Influenced or changed by something.
The affected products had to be recalled.
- 2
Simulated in order to impress.
He spoke with an affected English accent.
- 3
Emotionally moved; touched.
- 4
archaicadfected.
an affected equation
- 5
Resulting from a mostly negative physical effect or transformation.
noun
- 1
Someone affected, as by a disease.
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of affect
The thunderstorm affected the compass, and we got lost.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Affected in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | betroffen, beeinflusst, beeinträchtigt, tangiert, angegriffen, affiziert |
| French | affecté |
| Portuguese | afetado |
| Spanish | afectado, aquejado , amanerado, remilgado, melindroso, esquilimoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.