- A show, pretense, or display.
- Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality.
- A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression.
[Latin affectātiō, affectātiōn-, from affectātus, past participle of affectāre, to strive after. See affect2.]
SYNONYMS affectation, pose, 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.
