affirm

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af·firm

(ə-fûrm′)

v. af·firmed, af·firm·ing, af·firms

v.tr.

1. To declare positively; assert to be true: a philosopher affirming the existence of free will; a document affirming that each student has completed the course.

2. To declare support for or belief in: affirm the right to self-determination.

3. Law To rule (a court decision) to have been correct; confirm: The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision.

v.intr. Law

To assert that one will give true testimony equivalent to that which would be given while under oath.

[Middle English affermen, from Old French afermer, from Latin affirmāre : ad-, ad- + firmāre, to strengthen (from firmus, strong; see dher- in Indo-European roots).]

af·firm′a·ble adj.

af·firm′a·bly adv.

af·fir′mant adj. & n.

af·firm′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

affirm

(əˈfɜːm)

vb (mainly tr)

1. (may take a clause as object) to declare to be true; assert positively

2. to uphold, confirm, or ratify

3. (Law) (intr) law to make an affirmation

[C14: via Old French from Latin affirmāre to present (something) as firm or fixed, assert, from ad- to + firmāre to make firm¹]

afˈfirmer, afˈfirmant n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

af•firm

(əˈfɜrm)

v.t.

1. to assert positively: to affirm one's loyalty.

2. to confirm or ratify: The judgment of the lower court was affirmed.

3. to express agreement with; support; uphold.

v.i.

a. to state something solemnly before a court or magistrate, but without oath.

b. (of an appellate court) to determine that the action of the lower court shall stand.

[1300–50; Middle English a(f)fermen < Middle French afermer < Latin affirmāre]

af•firm′a•ble, adj.

af•firm′a•bly, adv.

af•firm′er, n.

af•firm′ing•ly, adv.

syn: See declare.

affirm

Past participle: affirmed
Gerund: affirming

Imperative
affirm
affirm

Present
I affirm
you affirm
he/she/it affirms
we affirm
you affirm
they affirm

Preterite
I affirmed
you affirmed
he/she/it affirmed
we affirmed
you affirmed
they affirmed

Present Continuous
I am affirming
you are affirming
he/she/it is affirming
we are affirming
you are affirming
they are affirming

Present Perfect
I have affirmed
you have affirmed
he/she/it has affirmed
we have affirmed
you have affirmed
they have affirmed

Past Continuous
I was affirming
you were affirming
he/she/it was affirming
we were affirming
you were affirming
they were affirming

Past Perfect
I had affirmed
you had affirmed
he/she/it had affirmed
we had affirmed
you had affirmed
they had affirmed

Future
I will affirm
you will affirm
he/she/it will affirm
we will affirm
you will affirm
they will affirm

Future Perfect
I will have affirmed
you will have affirmed
he/she/it will have affirmed
we will have affirmed
you will have affirmed
they will have affirmed

Future Continuous
I will be affirming
you will be affirming
he/she/it will be affirming
we will be affirming
you will be affirming
they will be affirming

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been affirming
you have been affirming
he/she/it has been affirming
we have been affirming
you have been affirming
they have been affirming

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been affirming
you will have been affirming
he/she/it will have been affirming
we will have been affirming
you will have been affirming
they will have been affirming

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been affirming
you had been affirming
he/she/it had been affirming
we had been affirming
you had been affirming
they had been affirming

Conditional
I would affirm
you would affirm
he/she/it would affirm
we would affirm
you would affirm
they would affirm

Past Conditional
I would have affirmed
you would have affirmed
he/she/it would have affirmed
we would have affirmed
you would have affirmed
they would have affirmed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	affirm - establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; "his story confirmed my doubts"; "The evidence supports the defendant" confirm, corroborate, substantiate, support, sustain back up, back - establish as valid or genuine; "Can you back up your claims?" vouch - give supporting evidence; "He vouched his words by his deeds" verify - confirm the truth of; "Please verify that the doors are closed"; "verify a claim" shew, show, demonstrate, prove, establish - establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment; "The experiment demonstrated the instability of the compound"; "The mathematician showed the validity of the conjecture" document - support or supply with references; "Can you document your claims?" validate - prove valid; show or confirm the validity of something negate, contradict - prove negative; show to be false
	2.	affirm - to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true; "Before God I swear I am innocent" avow, swan, swear, assert, aver, verify hold - assert or affirm; "Rousseau's philosophy holds that people are inherently good" claim, take - lay claim to; as of an idea; "She took credit for the whole idea" attest - authenticate, affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity; "I attest this signature" declare - state firmly; "He declared that he was innocent" declare - state emphatically and authoritatively; "He declared that he needed more money to carry out the task he was charged with" protest - affirm or avow formally or solemnly; "The suspect protested his innocence" assure, tell - inform positively and with certainty and confidence; "I tell you that man is a crook!"
	3.	affirm - say yes to claim - assert or affirm strongly; state to be true or existing; "He claimed that he killed the burglar" reaffirm - affirm once again; "He reaffirmed his faith in the church" reassert, confirm - strengthen or make more firm; "The witnesses confirmed the victim's account" defend, maintain - state or assert; "He maintained his innocence"

affirm

verb

1. declare, state, maintain, swear, assert, testify, pronounce, certify, attest, avow, aver, asseverate, avouch 'The place is a dump,' she affirmed.
declare deny, retract

2. confirm, prove, sanction, endorse, ratify, verify, validate, bear out, substantiate, corroborate, authenticate Everything I had accomplished seemed to affirm that opinion.
confirm reject, renounce, refute, disallow, repudiate, rescind, rebut

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

affirm

verb

1. To put into words positively and with conviction:

allege, argue, assert, asseverate, aver, avouch, avow, claim, contend, declare, hold, maintain, say, state.

Idiom: have it.

2. To accept officially:

adopt, approve, confirm, pass, ratify, sanction.

Translations

يُؤَكِّد

tvrdit

bekræfteforsikre

beteuern zusichern

afirmar

affirmer assurer certifier confirmer constater

staîfesta

affermare affermativa dichiarare

pozityvus elgesyspritariamasisteigiamastvirtinimastvirtinti

apgalvotapstiprināt

bekrefte forsikre

afirmar

iddia etmekkesinlikle söylemek

断言

affirm

[əˈfɜːm] VT (= state) → afirmar, aseverar; (= confirm) → confirmar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

affirm

[əˈfɜː^rm] vt

(= assert) → affirmer
to affirm that ... → affirmer que ...

(= confirm) → confirmer

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

affirm

(= assert) → versichern; (very forcefully) → beteuern; he affirmed his innocence → er versicherte, dass er unschuldig sei, er beteuerte seine Unschuld

(= ratify) → bestätigen

vi (Jur) → eidesstattlich or an Eidesstatt erklären

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

affirm

[əˈfɜːm] vt → affermare, asserire

affirm

(əˈfəːm) verb

to state something positively and firmly. Despite all the policeman's questions the lady continued to affirm that she was innocent.

ˌaffirˈmation (ӕ-) noun

afˈfirmative (-tiv) adjective, noun

saying or indicating yes to a question, suggestion etc. He gave an affirmative nod; a reply in the affirmative.

affirmative ˌaction noun

(American) the practice of giving better opportunities (jobs, education etc) to people who, it is thought, are treated unfairly (minorities, women etc).

affirm

vt. afirmar, asegurar.

References in classic literature ?

And, over each quivering form, The curtain, a funeral pall, Comes down with the rush of a storm, And the angels,all pallid and wan, Uprising, unveiling, affirm That the play is the tragedy, "Man," And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

View in context

It is evident from what has been said, that a herile and a political government are not the same, or that all governments are alike to each other, as some affirm; for one is adapted to the nature of freemen, the other to that of slaves.

View in context

I on the contrary affirm that I am still blind; for when I lost the use of my eyes, I saw in my house various chattels and valuable goods: but now, though he swears I am cured of my blindness, I am not able to see a single thing in it."

View in context

That Hesiod was of this opinion very many writers affirm who were earlier than the critic Aristophanes; for he was the first to reject the "Precepts", in which book this maxim occurs, as a work of that poet.

View in context

What I now affirm is, that I have a right to speak of these seas, under which, in less than ten months, I have crossed 20,000 leagues in that submarine tour of the world, which has revealed so many wonders.

View in context

The house may be suspected; but I deny that it is so in the part of it inhabited my Monsieur d'Artagnan, for I can affirm, sire, if I can believe what he says, that there does not exist a more devoted servant of your Majesty, or a more profound admirer of Monsieur the Cardinal."

View in context

We must not take upon us to affirm that this was a mistake, although the Face may have looked no more kindly at Ernest than at all the world besides.

View in context

Many grave persons affirm that, after having exhausted the fas of human learning, he had dared to penetrate into the nefas .

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A CELEBRATED Divine having affirmed the fallibility of the Bible, was asked why, then, he preached the religion founded upon it.

View in context

Richardson at the vicarage: she affirmed that he wished it no less than herself, and that such an arrangement could not fail to benefit all parties; for my mother's society and experience would be of inestimable value to them, and they would do all they could to make her happy.

View in context

Several were of opinion that the best way would be to kill us all at once, and affirmed that no other means were left of re-establishing order and tranquillity in the kingdom.

View in context

And this is a lesson which I suspect you must have learnt out of Homer; for he, speaking of Autolycus, the maternal grandfather of Odysseus, who is a favourite of his, affirms that