affairs
/əˈfɛərz/ · af·fairs
noun
- Matters or events of public or private concern; business or dealings. The mayor addressed the city's financial affairs during the council meeting.
- Personal or private matters, especially those concerning one's life or family. She prefers to keep her personal affairs out of the media.
- Romantic or sexual relationships, especially illicit ones. He confessed to having multiple affairs over the past decade.
- A state or condition of a situation, often expressed in the phrase ‘state of affairs’. The current affairs of the economy are causing widespread anxiety.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Did you know? The expression ‘state of affairs’ appears in Shakespeare’s *Hamlet* (Act I, Scene 5), illustrating the phrase’s early use to describe the condition of a situation.