An Affection

1. The act of affecting or acting upon.
2. The state of being affected, especially: a change in, or alteration of, the emotional state of a person or other animal, caused by a subjective affect (a subjective feeling or emotion), which arises in response to a stimulus which may result from either thought or perception.
3. An attribute; a quality or property; a condition.
4. An emotion; a feeling or natural impulse acting upon and swaying the mind.
5. A feeling of love or strong attachment.
6. (medicine, archaic) Disease; morbid symptom; malady.

Affection - Wikipedia

Usage notes

In the sense of "feeling of love or strong attachment", it is often in the plural; formerly followed by "to", but now more generally by "for" or "toward(s)", for example filial, social, or conjugal affections; to have an affection for or towards children

Synonyms

• (kind feeling): attachment, fondness, kindness, love, passion, tenderness