affair vs business

affair

noun
  • Something which is done or is to be done; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public. 

  • An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle. 

  • An adulterous relationship (from affaire de cœur, affair of the heart). 

  • A person with whom someone has an adulterous relationship. 

  • A romantic relationship with someone who is not one's regular partner (boyfriend, girlfriend). 

  • A party or social gathering, especially of a formal nature. 

  • Any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely. 

  • A material object (vaguely designated). 

business

noun
  • Commercial, industrial, or professional activity. 

  • One's dealings; patronage. 

  • A person's occupation, work, or trade. 

  • The act of defecation, or the excrement itself, particularly that of a non-human animal. 

  • Business class, the class of seating provided by airlines between first class and coach. 

  • A particular situation or activity. 

  • Action carried out with a prop or piece of clothing, usually away from the focus of the scene. 

  • Matters that come before a body for deliberation or action. 

  • The volume or amount of commercial trade. 

  • The management of commercial enterprises, or the study of such management. 

  • The collective noun for a group of ferrets. 

  • Private commercial interests taken collectively. 

  • Any activity or objective needing to be dealt with; especially, one of a financial or legal matter. 

  • matters (e.g sorry business = a funeral) 

  • Something very good; top quality. (possibly from "the bee's knees") 

  • A specific commercial enterprise or establishment. 

  • Disruptive shenanigans. 

  • Something involving one personally. 

adj
  • Of, to, pertaining to or utilized for purposes of conducting trade, commerce, governance, advocacy or other professional purposes. 

  • Professional, businesslike, having concern for good business practice. 

  • Supporting business, conducive to the conduct of business. 

How often have the words affair and business occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )