affirm

[ uh-furm ]

/ əˈfɜrm /

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verb (used with object)

to state or assert positively; maintain as true: to affirm one's loyalty to one's country; He affirmed that all was well.

to confirm or ratify: The appellate court affirmed the judgment of the lower court.

to assert solemnly: He affirmed his innocence.

to express agreement with or commitment to; uphold; support: to affirm human rights.

verb (used without object)

Law.

to state something solemnly before a court or magistrate, but without oath.
to ratify and accept a voidable transaction.
(of an appellate court) to determine that the action of the lower court shall stand.

Nearby words

affinely, affinitive, affinity, affinity card, affinity group, affirm, affirmance, affirmant, affirmation, affirmative, affirmative action

Origin of affirm

1300–50; < Latin affirmāre, equivalent to af- af- + firmāre to make firm (see firm¹); replacing Middle English a(f)fermen < Middle French afermer < Latin

SYNONYMS FOR affirm

1 aver, asseverate, depose, testify.

2 approve, endorse.

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ANTONYMS FOR affirm

1 deny.

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Related forms

af·firm·a·ble, adjectiveaf·firm·a·bly, adverbaf·firm·er, nounaf·firm·ing·ly, adverb

o·ver·af·firm, verbpre·af·firm, verbre·af·firm, verb (used with object)un·af·firmed, adjective

Synonym study

1. See declare.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for affirm

Advocates claimed that it helped to preserve virtue and to affirm the application of Sharia law.
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil|Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What is worse, it does so only to affirm sexist stereotypes.
Jeff Koons’ Bright, Shiny Objects|Justin Jones|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So when we progress, when we affirm ourselves, we should not threaten them.
Transcript: Thomas Friedman Interviews Hillary Clinton and Christine Lagarde||April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I believe this because these ideals that we affirm are true.
Obama’s Human Rights Chief Missing in Action|Josh Rogin|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST

They are demanding that the rest of us affirm their bad theology and codify it in the law.
Are Opponents of Arizona's Anti-Gay Law Eager to Deceive?|Kirsten Powers|March 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From no other source than the knowledge that this first proposition contains a clear conception of that which I affirm.
A History of Philosophy in Epitome|Albert Schwegler
The Chinese affirm that the latter is the finest fruit in the whole world.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
Moses does affirm as a certainty that man was created, and his wife also on the sixth day.
Commentary on Genesis, Vol. I|Martin Luther
But this does not authorize the rational psychologist to affirm, from mere conceptions, its permanence beyond life.
The Critique of Pure Reason|Immanuel Kant
But it would be rash to affirm that it is not even swifter than any variation among domesticated animals.
Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death|Frederick W. H. Myers

British Dictionary definitions for affirm

affirm

/ (əˈfɜːm) /

verb (mainly tr)

(may take a clause as object) to declare to be true; assert positively

to uphold, confirm, or ratify

(intr) law to make an affirmation

Derived Forms

affirmer or affirmant, noun

Word Origin for affirm

C14: via Old French from Latin affirmāre to present (something) as firm or fixed, assert, from ad- to + firmāre to make firm 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012