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   affinity

   /əˈfɪnɪti/

   noun

   • 1. a natural liking for and understanding of someone or something: "he had a special affinity with horses" Similar empathyrapportsympathyaccordharmonylike-mindednesscloseness tofellow feeling forunderstanding ofliking forfondness forinclination towardspartiality forpenchant forpredilection towardsattraction towardsinformal:chemistryrelationshipbondconnectionpropinquityOpposite dislikeaversionantipathyblood relationship
   • ▪ a similarity of characteristics suggesting a relationship, especially a resemblance in structure between animals, plants, or languages: "a semantic affinity between two words" Similar similarityresemblancelikenesskinshipcorrespondencerelationshipassociationlinkanalogysimilitudeagreementcompatibilitycongruityparallelismconsonanceidentityidenticalnessuniformityequivalenceOpposite dissimilitude
   • ▪ relationship, especially by marriage as opposed to blood ties: "the distinction between kinship and affinity is not always clear-cut"
   • 2. the degree to which a substance tends to combine with another: "the bacterial proteins bind to these molecules with high affinity"

   Word Origin Middle English (in the sense ‘relationship by marriage’): via Old French from Latin affinitas, from affinis ‘related’ (literally ‘bordering on’), from ad- ‘to’ + finis ‘border’.

   Scrabble Points: 17

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