affair noun

1 event/situation

ADJ. whole She saw the whole affair as a great joke. | glittering, grand I knew that the wedding would be a grand affair. | sordid, sorry, squalid

VERB + AFFAIR deal with, handle Many people have criticized the way the government handled the affair. | be involved in | investigate

PHRASES sb's involvement in the affair He has tried to play down his involvement in the affair. | a state of affairs How did this state of affairs come about? | wash your hands of the affair (= to refuse to be responsible for sth or involved in sth)

2 sexual relationship

ADJ. brief, casual | clandestine, secret | adulterous, extramarital | passionate, torrid | unhappy | love a torrid love affair

VERB + AFFAIR carry on, conduct, have He's having an affair with a colleague.

AFFAIR + VERB go on How long has the affair been going on?

PREP. ~ between It's the story of a secret affair between a married teacher and her teenage student. | ~ with an affair with a married man

3 sth that concerns one person/small group

ADJ. family, personal, sb's own It's a family affair.

PHRASES sb's affair What I do at the weekend is my affair. | no affair of sb's That's no affair of yours.

4 affairs: important matters

ADJ. current a current affairs programme on television | private, public | domestic, home, internal, national | community, local | European, foreign, external, international, world the minister for foreign affairs | business, financial, legal | commercial, consumer, cultural, economic, environmental, military, political, religious, social

VERB + AFFAIR administer, arrange, attend to, conduct, manage, run I am trying to arrange my father's financial affairs. | settle, wind up | interfere in, meddle in

PHRASES affairs of state The Cabinet will be discussing certain affairs of state. | put/set your affairs in order I want to put my affairs in order before I die. | a state of affairs the current state of affairs in schools

You can also check other dicts: affair (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition

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