Some common synonyms of affection are emotion, feeling, passion, and sentiment. While all these words mean "a subjective response to a person, thing, or situation," affection applies to feelings that are also inclinations or likings.

// a memoir of childhood filled with affection for her family

Emotion carries a strong implication of excitement or agitation but, like feeling, encompasses both positive and negative responses.

// the drama portrays the emotions of adolescence

Although the words feeling and affection have much in common, feeling denotes any partly mental, partly physical response marked by pleasure, pain, attraction, or repulsion; it may suggest the mere existence of a response but imply nothing about the nature or intensity of it.

// the feelings that once moved me are gone