affair
/əˈfɛɹ/
noun
Common
1.n.a vaguely specified concern
“several matters to attend to”
2.n.a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
3.n.a vaguely specified social event
“the party was quite an affair”
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affair and thing share a recorded sense, so the question is not what they mean but which one fits. affair means “a vaguely specified concern”. thing means “a special situation”. thing is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/əˈfɛɹ/
1.n.a vaguely specified concern
“several matters to attend to”
2.n.a usually secretive or illicit sexual relationship
3.n.a vaguely specified social event
“the party was quite an affair”
/ˈθɪŋ/
1.n.a special situation
“this thing has got to end”
2.n.an action
“how could you do such a thing?”
3.n.a special abstraction
“a thing of the spirit”
| affair | thing | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /əˈfɛɹ/ | /ˈθɪŋ/ |
| Said | uh-FER | thing |
| Syllables | 2 | 1 |
| Letters | 6 | 5 |
| Parts of speech | noun | noun |
| Senses | 3 | 12 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | matter, thing | none recorded |
Full entry for affair · Full entry for thing · More comparisons