affirm
[ uh-furm ]
/ əˈfɜrm /
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.
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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,
- affirmance,
- affirmant,
- affirmation,
- affirmative,
- affirmative action
Origin of affirm
SYNONYMS FOR affirm
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
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
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
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affirm
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