Collocations for affair - noun

whole
She saw the whole affair as a great joke.

glittering, grand
I knew that the wedding would be a grand affair.

intimate, low-key, simple
community, local
messy, sad, sordid, sorry (esp. BrE), squalid (esp. BrE)
the newspaper article that exposed this whole sordid affair

deal with, handle
Many people have criticized the way the government handled the affair.

be involved in
investigate

sb's involvement in the affair
He has tried to play down his involvement in the affair.

a state of affairs
How did this state of affairs come about?

wash your hands of the affair (= to refuse to be responsible for sth or involved in sth)

brief, casual
clandestine, illicit, secret
adulterous, extramarital
He had an extramarital affair with his secretary.

passionate, steamy, torrid
scandalous
unhappy
love, romantic, sexual
a torrid love affair

gay, homosexual, lesbian
alleged

carry on, conduct, have
He's having an affair with a colleague.

cover up, deny
expose

go on
How long has the affair been going on?

affair between
It's the story of a secret affair between a married teacher and her teenage student.

affair with
an affair with a married man

family, sb's own, personal, private
It's a family affair.

interfere in, meddle in

sb's affair
What I do at home is my affair.

no affair of sb's
That's no affair of yours.

current
a current-affairs magazine

public
human
domestic, home, internal, national
civic, community, local
external, foreign, global, international, world
the minister for foreign affairs

business, financial, legal
commercial, consumer, cultural, economic, environmental, military, political, religious, social

administer, arrange, attend to, conduct, manage, run
I am trying to arrange my father's financial affairs.

get in order, put in order, set in order, settle, wind up
She went back home to put her affairs in order before she died.

affairs of state
The Cabinet will be discussing certain affairs of state.

a state of affairs
the current state of affairs in schools