Meaning & use
affine
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparabletechnicalmathematics
Relating to a transformation that preserves straight lines and parallelism but may change distances and angles.
Grammar: Used before a noun: affine transformation, affine geometry.
Patterns
- affine transformation
- affine geometry
- affine space
An affine transformation can stretch or rotate a shape but keeps parallel lines parallel.
The course covers affine geometry in the second term.
She used an affine map to align the two images.
adjectivenot comparabletechnicalchemistry
In chemistry, relating to a substance's tendency to combine with another substance.
Grammar: Used mainly before a noun: affine reagent, affine group.
Patterns
- affine reagent
- affine group
The affine reagent binds strongly to the metal.
This affine group shows a high affinity for water.
Common combinations
- affine transformation
- The software applies an affine transformation to the image.
- affine geometry
- Affine geometry studies properties that do not change under affine transformations.
- affine space
- In an affine space, there is no fixed origin.
- affine map
- The affine map shifts every point by the same vector.
Synonyms and how they differ
- linear
- Linear transformations are a special case of affine transformations; affine allows a translation as well.
Word family
- affinity noun
- A natural liking or connection between things or people.
Commonly confused: affine or affinity?
affine vs affinity
Affinity is a noun meaning a close connection or liking; affine is an adjective used in mathematics and chemistry.
Practice
In geometry, a transformation that keeps parallel lines parallel is called an ______ transformation.
Choose one answer.
The adjective 'affine' is the standard term for this type of transformation. 'Affinity' is a noun, and 'affinal' and 'affined' are unrelated words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “affine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.