Meaning & use
affected party
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Meanings
nouncountableformallegal
A person or group whose interests, rights, or situation are changed by a decision, event, or rule.
Grammar: Countable: say 'an affected party' or 'the affected parties'. Often used in the plural in official writing.
Patterns
- the affected party
- affected parties
- a party affected by something
The court must notify every affected party before making a final decision.
In a divorce, both spouses are affected parties and have the right to be heard.
The new tax rule requires officials to consult the affected parties first.
nouncountablespecialistbusiness
In insurance, the person or organization covered by a policy and entitled to make a claim.
Grammar: Countable and used mainly in insurance documents; often appears as 'the affected party'.
Patterns
- the affected party under a policy
- compensate the affected party
Under this policy, the affected party may claim up to fifty thousand dollars.
The insurer is required to inform the affected party within ten days.
Word forms
| plural | affected parties |
|---|
Common combinations
- notify the affected party
- The bank must notify the affected party before closing the account.
- consult affected parties
- The council agreed to consult affected parties before building the road.
- the rights of affected parties
- The report focuses on the rights of affected parties in the dispute.
- compensate the affected party
- The company was ordered to compensate the affected party for the loss.
Synonyms and how they differ
- interested party
- An interested party has a stake or concern in a matter, while an affected party is specifically one whose situation is actually changed by it.
- stakeholder
- Stakeholder is broader and common in business; it can include anyone with an interest, not only those directly affected.
Word family
Commonly confused: affected party or effected?
affected party vs effected
Affected means changed or influenced; effected means brought about or carried out, as in 'effected a change'.
Practice
The new regulation requires officials to consult all ______ before it takes effect.
Choose one answer.
'Affected parties' means the people whose situation is changed by the regulation, which is the intended meaning. 'Affecting parties' would suggest the parties are doing the affecting, not receiving it; 'affection parties' and 'effect parties' are not established phrases here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “affected party”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.