Difference between love and affection

The main difference between the terms love and affection is that love is stronger and deeper while affection is less deep and strong.

love versus affection

Love and affection are two similar, yet different feelings that one experiences in life. Love and affection are interconnected and at the same time different in many ways. Both feelings are so strong that they are inseparable.

Love is defined as a deep affection towards a specific person or persons. Affection is a feeling of attraction, liking and affection. The degree of affection and attraction in love is greater than affection.

Love is a combination of emotional, physical, mental, spiritual and mystical attachment to a specific person. Affection is the feeling one feels towards the beauty, appearance, or some other attractive trait of another person.

Love is one step ahead of affection. Affection is the first step towards love. If we love someone, we will feel affection for that person, but we do not love everyone we feel affection for.

The intensity of both feelings of love and affection is different. Love is an intense, deeper and stronger feeling. Comparatively, affect is a mild and less intense feeling. Love is an unconditional feeling. You start feeling sorry for someone for no reason. In simple words, love doesn’t need a reason. Affection, however, is always generated by any factor such as attraction to someone.

In love, a person likes all aspects of the personality of the person with whom he is in love. In affection, a person adores something or someone. The feeling of love contains passion and romance. The feeling of affection does not contain romantic or passionate feelings.

Love and affection have their associations with different expressions and acts. Love can also be considered sexual or intimate, while affection is deprived of such feelings.

Comparison chart

What is love?

Love refers to a wide variety of feelings or emotions. It is a feeling that a person will surely experience once in their life. This range of feelings commonly includes affection, fondness, liking, and attachment.

Love is an emotion that one feels towards a close person specifically. Love is defined as a deep affection towards a specific person or persons. Love is a combination of emotional, physical, mental, spiritual and mystical attachment to a specific person.

It is such an inseparable and unforgettable feeling. Love is one step ahead of affection. If we love someone, we will feel affection for that person, but we do not love everyone we feel affection for. Love is the strongest and deepest feeling in the world. It is unconditional. You start feeling sorry for someone for no reason. In simple words, love doesn’t need a reason.

The strong feeling of love is associated with positive feelings such as care, trust, warmth, and happiness. In love, a person likes all aspects of the personality of the person with whom he is in love. There are four types of love, according to the ancient Greeks. These are called phileo, storge, eros, and agape.

Phileo is one of the affectionate, warm and platonic lovers. We feel this kind of love towards friends. Storge is the love we feel towards relatives and family. Eros is the type of passionate love commonly found between lovers. This type of love is characterized by longing and desire. Agape is the pure and ideal love that opposes eros.

In general, love is a feeling that makes oneself and others happy as well. The four types of love indicate different intensities and levels, but all of these types share a common element of kindness and attraction.

What is affection?

Affection is a soft, gentle feeling of liking, caring, and caring. Affection is a feeling that a person experiences many times in her life. The feeling of attraction can be towards a person or towards a thing, although the degree of affection and attraction in affection is not as strong as in love.

Affection is a mild feeling that is also sometimes considered the first step towards love. Affection is the feeling one feels towards the beauty, appearance, or some other attractive trait of another person. If we love someone, we will feel affection for that person, but we do not love everyone we feel affection for. Affection is generated by factors such as attraction and affection towards someone.

In affection, a person adores something or someone. The feeling of affection does not contain passionate, sensual or romantic feelings. Affection is also deprived of sexuality or intimacy. However, the feeling of affection is communicated through gestures, words or tender and tender caresses.

The most common acts of affection are a hug, a kiss on the forehead, cheek or nose. Affection is a kind of feeling that makes you feel safe and cared for. In simple words, affection can be taken as an earlier phase of love and love cannot occur without affection.

Affection is a very soft and moderate feeling. It can be seen in a relationship between two friends, a child, a mother, etc. You can also feel affection for those who do not love. For example, a person may feel affection for his roommate or neighbor, but this does not mean that he loves his neighbor.

Key differences

1. Love is a feeling that is very strong and deep, while affection is a feeling that is a moderate and gentle feeling and emotion towards someone/something.
2. Love is a strong and deep affection. In contrast, affection is a mild feeling of caring, fondness, or liking.
3. Love is a combination of emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and mystical attachment to a specific person, on the other hand, affection is the feeling one feels towards another person’s beauty, appearance, or some other attractive trait.
4. The degree of affection and attraction in love is higher, on the other hand, the degree of affection and attraction in affection is lower.
5. Love can also be considered sexual or intimate with some specific relationships, on the contrary, affection is deprived of such feelings.
6. Love is one step ahead of affection; conversely, affection is the first step towards love.
7. The feeling of love contains strong feelings like passion and romance, while the feeling of affection is mild and does not contain passionate or romantic feelings.
8. Love does not need a reason, on the contrary, affection is generated by some factors such as attraction to someone.
9. Love is deeper and stronger, conversely affection is a soft feeling.

Final Thought

Love and affection are the two different feelings that are commonly experienced by human beings. Both feelings are different from each other in their intensity, experience and various other aspects.