affinity
uh-FIN-ih-teenounMeaning a natural liking for, or sense of connection with, someone or something
Memory hook a FIN-ITY: the girl and the whale. Every time Ivy visits the harbor, the same friendly whale swims up and waves a fin at her; the two share a natural affinity.
Ivy has always had an affinity for animals; stray cats follow her home.
In context Though they had grown up on opposite sides of the world, the two cousins felt an instant affinity, finishing each other’s sentences within an hour of meeting.
Similar liking, fondness, connection, rapport
Opposite aversion, dislike, antipathy
From Latin affinitas, “closeness, relationship,” from affinis (bordering on, related): ad- (to) + finis (border).