Word Woman

Welcome to another astounding episode of Word Woman's Weekly Work-Out! This week we'll be examining two of the most frequently confused and misused words in the English language. They rank right up there with that misleading matched set: insure and ensure. Since we have already visited those words in a previous post (ref. - Word Woman 12/5/2008), we'll move on to the Words of the Week:

Affect:
1. to produce an effect upon
2. to produce a material influence upon or alteration in
3. to act upon (as a person or a person's mind or feelings) so as to produce a response; influence

"affect", http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affect , 12/2/2010

Effect:
1. to cause to come into being
2. to bring about often by surmounting obstacles; accomplish
3. to put into operation

"effect", http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effect , 12/2/2010

Instead of the example sentence I usually provide, here is a much more comprehensive explanation of the difference between these two words from that fount of internet knowledge known as the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

Effect and affect are often confused because of their similar spelling and pronunciation. The verb ²affect usually has to do with pretense (she affected a cheery disposition despite feeling down). The more common ³affect denotes having an effect or influence (the weather affected everyone's mood). The verb effect goes beyond mere influence; it refers to actual achievement of a final result (the new administration hopes to effect a peace settlement). The uncommon noun affect, which has a meaning relating to psychology, is also sometimes mistakenly used for the very common effect. In ordinary use, the noun you will want is effect (waiting for the new law to take effect) (the weather had an effect on everyone's mood)

(ibid)