Dictionary.com
definitions

affirmation

[af-er-mey-shuh n]
noun
  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.

Origin of affirmation

1535–45; < Latin affirmātiōn- (stem of affirmātiō), equivalent to affirmāt(us) (past participle of affirmāre to affirm) + -iōn- -ion
Related formsnon·af·fir·ma·tion, nouno·ver·af·fir·ma·tion, nounpre·af·fir·ma·tion, nounre·af·fir·ma·tion, nounself-af·fir·ma·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for self-affirmation

Historical Examples of self-affirmation

  • The justification of suffering is that the will affirms itself; and the self-affirmation is justified by payment of the penalty.

    Schopenhauer

    Thomas Whittaker

British Dictionary definitions for self-affirmation

affirmation

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
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 self-affirmation

affirmation

n.

early 15c., "assertion that something is true," from Old French afermacion (14c.), from Latin affirmationem (nominative affirmatio) "an affirmation, solid assurance," noun of action from past participle stem of affirmare (see affirm). In law, as the Quaker alternative to oath-taking, it is attested from 1690s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper