| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| affectation |
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| SYLLABICATION: | af·fec·ta·tion |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   f  k-t  sh n |
| NOUN: | 1. A show, pretense, or display. 2a. Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality. b. A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin affectti , affecttin-, from affecttus, past participle of affectre, to strive after. See affect2. | | SYNONYMS: | affectation, pose1, air, mannerism These nouns refer to personal behavior assumed for effect. An affectation is artificial behavior, often adopted in imitation of someone, that is perceived as being unnatural: “His [Arthur Rubinstein's] playing stripped away . . . the affectations and exaggerations that characterized Chopin interpretation before his arrival” (Michael Kimmelman). Pose denotes an attitude adopted to call favorable attention to oneself: His humility is only a pose. Air, meaning a distinctive but intangible quality, does not always imply sham: The director had an air of authority. In the plural, however, it suggests affectation and self-importance: The movie star was putting on airs. Mannerism denotes an idiosyncratic trait or quirk, often one that others find obtrusive and distracting: His mannerism of closing his eyes as he talked made it seem as if he were deep in thought.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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