affirm

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage) From Middle English affirmen, affermen, from Old French afermer, affermer, from Latin affirmare, adfirmare (“to present as fixed, aver, affirm”), from ad (“to”) + firmare (“to make firm”), from firmus (“firm”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɝm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)m

Verb

affirm (third-person singular simple present affirms, present participle affirming, simple past and past participle affirmed)

1. To agree, verify or concur; to answer positively.

   She affirmed that she would go when I asked her.

2. To assert positively; to tell with confidence; to aver; to maintain as true.
   • Bible, Acts xxv. 19

     Jesus, […] whom Paul affirmed to be alive

3. To support or encourage.

   They did everything they could to affirm the children's self-confidence.

4. To make firm; to confirm, or ratify; especially (law) to assert or confirm, as a judgment, decree, or order, brought before an appellate court for review.

Synonyms

• validate

Antonyms

• disaffirm
• deny (of 1,2)
• repudiate (of 2)
• invalidate (of 4)

Related terms

• affirmation
• affirmative

Translations

to agree with or verify

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 承认 (zh) (chéngrèn),肯定 (zh) (kěndìng)

• Danish: bejae
• Finnish: vahvistaa (fi)
• Galician: afirmar (gl)
• German: zustimmen (de), bejahen (de), bestätigen (de)
• Greek: βεβαιώ (vevaió), επιβεβαιώνω (el) (epivevaióno)
• Interlingue:
• Japanese: 肯定する (ja) (こうていする, kōtei suru)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: dico (la)
• Lithuanian: teigti
• Maori: whakakoikoia, whakakoia, whakatūturu
• Polish: potwierdzać (pl) impf, potwierdzić (pl) pf
• Portuguese: afirmar (pt)
• Serbo-Croatian: potvrditi (sh)
• Spanish: afirmar (es)

to support or encourage

• Finnish: vahvistaa (fi), tukea (fi)
• German: unterstützen (de)
• Greek: στηρίζω (el) (stirízo)
• Latin: dico (la)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: afirmar (pt)
• Serbo-Croatian: poduprijeti (sh)
• Spanish: afirmar (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} твърдя (bg) (tvǎrdja), ^{(please verify)} заявявам (bg) (zajavjavam)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Manx: ^{(please verify)} shickyree

See also

• affirmative action
• confirm

Further reading

• “affirm”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “affirm”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “affirm”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.