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definitions

affirm

[ uh-furm ]
/ əˈfɜrm /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR affirm ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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RELATED WORDS

repeat, confirm, ratify, insist, assert, maintain, profess, declare, guarantee, attest, predicate, avow, set, avouch, certify, pronounce, vouch, ice, testify, state

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
Related forms

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

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 Formsaffirmer 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

Word Origin and History for affirm

affirm

v.

c.1300, from Old French afermier (Modern French affirmer) "affirm, confirm; strengthen, consolidate," from Latin affirmare "to make steady, strengthen," figuratively "confirm, corroborate," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + firmare "strengthen, make firm," from firmus "strong" (see firm (adj.)). Spelling refashioned 16c. in French and English on Latin model. Related: Affirmed; affirming.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper