affirmation

American  

[af-er-may-shuhn] / ˌæf ərˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

• affirmations
  plural

1. 

   the act or an instance of affirming; state of being affirmed.

2. the assertion that something exists or is true.

3. something that is affirmed; a statement or proposition that is declared to be true.

4. confirmation or ratification of the truth or validity of a prior judgment, decision, etc.

5. Law. a solemn declaration accepted instead of a statement under oath.

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affirmation British  

/ ˌæfəˈmeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of affirming or the state of being affirmed

2. a statement of the existence or truth of something; assertion

3. law a solemn declaration permitted on grounds of conscientious objection to taking an oath

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonaffirmation
  noun
• overaffirmation
  noun
• preaffirmation
  noun
• reaffirmation
  noun
• self-affirmation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• affirmations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of affirmation

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin affirmātiōn-, stem of affirmātiō, equivalent to affirmāt(us) (past participle of affirmāre affirm ) + -iō -ion

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Explanation

An affirmation is a big fat YES, an assertion that something is true. Affirmations can show up in court, or taped to the walls of people who need reassurance. In court, it's a judgment from a higher court that agrees with one from a lower one, or something a religious person who doesn't want to take an oath can use. Quakers use affirmations on the stand instead of swearing, because they always speak plainly. It means to assure, or agree, so you might find affirmations like "You're awesome!" or "Lookin' good" taped to the mirror of people who need to chin up.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

affirmation affirmations

I’ve no desire to kind of glean the kind of affirmation from the person I’m talking to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Jasper sees Anthropic’s and OpenAI’s revelations as affirmation of his team’s earlier research.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

The NSF grant is the latest affirmation of D-Wave’s strong backing at the federal level.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

More often, it is an affirmation of where home feels strongest.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

This got even a louder affirmation from the assembly, followed by some truly hearty spitting.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

They described being unable to take in even the most effusive messages from their audience – the types of affirmations that had initially pushed them to begin creating in the first place.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Hopefully people will make the connection of the importance of dreaming and planning and affirmations but also the importance of letting things go, like forgiving people.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Positive affirmations were driving the healthcare sector higher.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

The true artist must be the voice of opposition, of negativity, and should bellow “No! in thunder”—the phrase is Melville’s—to the easy affirmations of our complacent society.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

There never has been a man who asserted anything with more effectiveness, nor whose affirmations rested upon greater oaths, who observed them less.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

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Related Words

• assertion
• confirmation

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