affectation.

A manner or behavior adopted to make an impression rather than arising naturally.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• affected manner
• literary affectation

On the page

The accent sounded like an affectation rather than a habit.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Countable or uncountable by context; countable singular affectation; plural affectations. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, atmosphere, interpretation. Commonness: moderately common.