affirmative

[ uh-fur-muh-tiv ]
See synonyms for: affirmativeaffirmativesaffirmatively on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. affirming or assenting; asserting the truth, validity, or fact of something.

  2. expressing agreement or consent; assenting: an affirmative reply.

  1. positive; not negative.

  2. Logic. noting a proposition in which a property of a subject is affirmed, as “All men are happy.”

noun
  1. something that affirms or asserts; a positive statement or proposition; affirmation.

  2. a reply indicating assent, as Yes or I do.

  1. a manner or mode that indicates assent: a reply in the affirmative.

  2. the side, as in a debate, that affirms or defends a statement that the opposite side denies or attacks: to speak for the affirmative.

interjection
  1. (used to indicate agreement, assent, etc.): “Is this the right way to Lake George?” “Affirmative.”

Origin of affirmative

1
1400–50; <Latin affirmātīvus, equivalent to affirmāt- (see affirmation) + -īvus-ive; replacing late Middle English affirmatyff<Middle French <Latin

Other words from affirmative

  • af·firm·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·af·firm·a·tive, adjective
  • o·ver·af·firm·a·tive·ly, adverb
  • pre·af·firm·a·tive, adjective
  • qua·si-af·firm·a·tive, adjective
  • qua·si-af·firm·a·tive·ly, adverb

Words Nearby affirmative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use affirmative in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for affirmative

affirmative

/ (əˈfɜːmətɪv) /


adjective
  1. confirming or asserting something as true or valid: an affirmative statement

  2. indicating agreement or assent: an affirmative answer

  1. logic

    • (of a categorial proposition) affirming the satisfaction by the subject of the predicate, as in all birds have feathers; some men are married

    • not containing negation: Compare negative (def. 12)

noun
  1. a positive assertion

  2. a word or phrase stating agreement or assent, such as yes (esp in the phrase answer in the affirmative)

  1. logic an affirmative proposition

  2. the affirmative mainly US and Canadian the side in a debate that supports the proposition

sentence substitute
  1. military a signal codeword used to express assent or confirmation

Derived forms of affirmative

  • affirmatively, adverb

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