{
    "term": "affair",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "events that are of public interest or political importance",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "**world/international affairs**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "an expert on **foreign affairs** *(= political events in other countries)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We are expecting a statement from the **home affairs** *(= political events in your own country)* spokesman."
                },
                {
                    "text": "internal/external affairs"
                },
                {
                    "text": "affairs of state"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Politics"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["current", "public", "human"],
                "verb + affairs": ["administer", "arrange", "attend to"],
                "phrases": ["affairs of state", "a state of affairs"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "an event that people are talking about or describing in a particular way",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The newspapers exaggerated the **whole affair** wildly."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She wanted the celebration to be a simple **family affair**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Many people have criticized the way the government handled the affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The Whitewater affair was the biggest scandal of the decade."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The debate was a pretty disappointing affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I ended up disillusioned and bitter about the whole affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I knew that the wedding would be a grand affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He has tried to play down his involvement in the affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She saw the whole affair as a great joke."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["whole", "glittering", "grand"],
                "verb + affair": ["deal with", "handle", "be involved in"],
                "phrases": [
                    "somebody’s involvement in the affair",
                    "wash your hands of the affair"
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "a sexual relationship between two people, usually when one or both of them are already in a relationship with somebody else",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She **was having an affair** with a co-worker."
                },
                {
                    "text": "an **extramarital affair**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's the story of a secret affair between a married teacher and her teenage student."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They had a passionate affair for six months."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Their affair did not develop into a lasting relationship."
                },
                {
                    "text": "an affair with a married man"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a torrid love affair"
                },
                {
                    "text": "How long has the affair been going on?"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Family and relationships"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["brief", "casual", "clandestine"],
                "verb + affair": ["carry on", "conduct", "have"],
                "affair + verb": ["go on"],
                "preposition": ["affair between", "affair with"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "matters connected with a person’s private business and financial situation",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She manages the family's **financial affairs**."
                },
                {
                    "text": "I looked after my father's financial affairs."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She wanted to **put her affairs in order** before she died."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["current", "public", "human"],
                "verb + affairs": ["administer", "arrange", "attend to"],
                "phrases": ["affairs of state", "a state of affairs"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "a thing that somebody is responsible for (and that other people should not be interested in)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "How I spend my money is my affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The details of your relationship should be a private affair."
                },
                {
                    "text": "That's no affair of yours."
                },
                {
                    "text": "It's a family affair."
                }
            ],
            "synonyms": "business",
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["family", "somebody’s own", "personal"],
                "verb + affair": ["interfere in", "meddle in"],
                "phrases": ["somebody’s affair", "no affair of somebody’s"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "an object that is unusual or difficult to describe",
            "labels": "(old-fashioned)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Her hat was an amazing affair with feathers and a huge brim."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "a situation",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "This state of affairs can no longer be ignored."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/əˈfeə(r)/",
                "audio": "af/affair/affair__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/əˈfer/",
                "audio": "af/affair/affair__us_2.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Middle English: from Old French afaire, from à faire ‘to do’; compare with ado."
}