 Affected versus affected. This is another set of words that is easily confused in English. Let's take a closer look. The word affected means impacted, created an effect on, and changed in a certain way. For example, the BP oil spill adversely affected marine wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas. Affected, on the other hand, means executed, brought about, and produced something. For example, after the BP oil spill, the government affected sweeping environmental regulation. I hope the difference is clear now. That's it for today and see you next time.