Definition of "affectionately" []

• In an affectionate manner. (adverb)

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• "It nearly brought a tear to my eye when I saw thousands of screaming fans watching a bunch of (and I use the term affectionately) nerds out there doing their thing."
• "They all drove, flew and hopped trains from just about every corner of the country and spent their hours before boarding the Mothership (the term affectionately given the Hampton Coliseum due to its resemblance to a spaceship) in the parking lot tailgating, trying to score a last-minute ticket, selling food or homemade wares, and even attempting to find some chemical enhancement for the show later (not that we'd condone such behavior)."
• "Blue Meanie was the name affectionately given to members of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office after their excessive use of force in 1969 against the protesters who “took” People’s Park away from the university and turned it into a community gathering place."