Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Closely related or connected: Describes a state of being linked by a close relationship, bond, or affinity. This connection can be based on kinship, similarity, or mutual attraction.
   • Bound by an affinity: Specifically refers to being connected by marriage or a close social tie, though this usage is now rare.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • The two families were affined through generations of intermarriage.
  • Their affined interests in classical music made their friendship strong and natural.
  • In his poem, Stevens describes concepts as being syllable to blessed syllable affined, suggesting a deep, intrinsic connection.

Advanced Usage

• Legal/Historical Context: In older legal or genealogical texts, "affined" could specifically denote a relationship created by marriage, as opposed to "consanguineous" (related by blood).
  • The lord's affined relatives, those connected by his wife's lineage, also held positions in the court.

Variants and Related Words

• Affinity (n.): A spontaneous or natural liking, sympathy, or connection; a relationship, especially by marriage.
  • She felt an immediate affinity with the stranger.
• Affinal (adj.): A more common technical term, especially in anthropology, meaning related by marriage.
  • Anthropologists study both consanguineal (blood) and affinal (marriage) kinship ties.

Synonyms

• Related
• Connected
• Allied
• Associated
• Kindred (especially in spirit or character)

Antonyms

• Unrelated
• Disconnected
• Unassociated
• Alien

Notes on Usage

• The word "affined" is now considered archaic and is rarely used in modern everyday English. It is primarily encountered in historical texts, poetry (as in the Wallace Stevens reference), or specialized academic writing.
• In contemporary language, words like "related", "connected", or the noun "affinity" are strongly preferred to express similar meanings.

Adjective

1. closely related
   • syllable to blessed syllable affined- Wallace Stevens