a primitive method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control; escape was usually taken as a sign of innocence
a positive feeling of liking; "he had trouble expressing the affection he felt"; "the child won everyone's heart"; "the warmness of his welcome made us feel right at home"
filled with regret or concern; used often to soften an unpleasant statement; "I'm afraid I won't be able to come"; "he was afraid he would have to let her go"; "I'm afraid you're wrong"
feeling worry or concern or insecurity; "She was afraid that I might be embarrassed"; "terribly afraid of offending someone"; "I am afraid we have witnessed only the first phase of the conflict"
having feelings of aversion or unwillingness; "afraid of hard work"; "afraid to show emotion"
a natural attraction or feeling of kinship; "an affinity for politics"; "the mysterious affinity between them"; "James's affinity with Sam"
inherent resemblance between persons or things
the force attracting atoms to each other and binding them together in a molecule; "basic dyes have an affinity for wool and silk"
(immunology) the attraction between an antigen and an antibody
a close connection marked by community of interests or similarity in nature or character; "found a natural affinity with the immigrants"; "felt a deep kinship with the other students"; "anthropology's kinship with the humanities"
(biology) state of relationship between organisms or groups of organisms resulting in resemblance in structure or structural parts; "in anatomical structure prehistoric man shows close affinity with modern humans"
(anthropology) kinship by marriage or adoption; not a blood relationship
(always used with a modifier) boredom resulting from overexposure to something; "he was suffering from museum fatigue"; "after watching TV with her husband she had a bad case of football fatigue"; "the American public is experiencing scandal fatigue"; "political fatigue"
temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work; "he was hospitalized for extreme fatigue"; "growing fatigue was apparent from the decline in the execution of their athletic skills"; "weariness overcame her after twelve hours and she fell asleep"
used of materials (especially metals) in a weakened state caused by long stress; "metal fatigue"