Effective vs Affective
Knowing the difference between effective and affective can be of great use to you if you do not know how to use them appropriately. It is quite disturbing to see people use these two words, effective and affective, interchangeably as if there is no difference between effective and affective. It is wrong to do so. There is a difference in their meanings and connotation. What is effective actually? Linguistically speaking, effective is an adjective. Sometimes effective is used as a noun too. On the other hand, affective is only used as an adjective. Affectively and affectivity are two word that derived from the word affective.
What does Effective mean?
Effective is something about the result. According to the Oxford English dictionary effective is “successful in producing a desired or intended result.” We can also say that the word effective suggests the nature of the result or the efficacy of the result.Look at the sentences mentioned below:
The medicine was very effective.
They were happy about finding an effective solution for the pollution.
In the first sentence, the word effective is used in the sense of the efficacy of the medicine to drive away the disease or ailment. On the other hand, the word effective is not used in the sense of infectious. In other words, it can be said that the word effective suggests the power within. The word effective is used as an adjective in the second sentence as in the sentence,
He took an effective decision.
In the second sentence, effective gives the meaning being successful in producing a desired on intended result. Here, in this third sentence, the word effective is used to convey the sense of strong. The word effective almost guarantees result. On the other, hand the power suggested by the word effective is certainly sufficient to cause a change. This is a big difference between the two words that needs to be understood. Both the words should be used with a lot of care and precision.
What does Affective mean?
On the other hand, affective is something about influence. In other words, the word affective suggests the influence of something on the other. According to the Oxford English dictionary affective is “relating to moods, feelings, and attitudes.” Look at the following sentence.
Plague is an affective disease.
In the above mentioned sentence, the word affective suggests that Plague has the power to influence somebody who is close to an infected person and infect him or her too. Thus, the word affective is used in the sense of infectious. When we consider the word affective, we can say that the word affective suggests the power without. While effective guarantees the result, the word affective does not guarantee the result. At the same time while the power suggested by effective is certainly sufficient to cause a change, the influence suggested by the word affective may be sufficient enough to cause a change.
What is the difference between Effective and Affective?
• Effective is something about the result. On the other hand, affective is something about influence.
• The word affective is used in the sense of infectious. On the other hand, the word effective is not used in the sense of infectious.
• The power suggested by the word effective is certainly sufficient to cause a change. However, the influence suggested by the word affective may be sufficient enough to cause a change.