lexicow

affirm

/əˈfɜːrm//əˈfɜːm/·verb
A document lies on the desk, its lines faint and unsettled. The stamp lifts for its windup, hangs a beat, then comes down hard and presses a firm seal onto the page. On the strike the wavering lines snap solid, and the mark sits there, bold and done, long after the stamp has lifted away. The hesitation was the weighing; the mark left behind is the thing set down as true, no longer free to waver.
|

Definition

To affirm is to say firmly and publicly that something is true — to assert it, and to stand behind it. From Latin affirmare, 'to make firm', it is the opposite of leaving things tentative: where a doubt wavers, an affirmation is set down hard. In law a higher court affirms a ruling it agrees with; in argument, fresh evidence can affirm a hypothesis rather than refute it. It can also mean to validate a person — to affirm someone is to confirm that they matter.

Examples

  • The new data did not refute the model; if anything, it affirmed the hypothesis.
  • She affirmed, calmly and without hedging, that the figures were entirely her own.
  • On appeal, the higher court affirmed the original verdict.

Collocations

affirm a commitment·affirm the ruling·strongly affirm·affirm that

Synonyms

assert·confirm·declare·maintain·uphold

Antonyms

deny·refute·contradict

Word family

affirmation (noun)·affirmative (adjective)

In TOEFL & IELTS

A precise, formal verb for IELTS Writing on debate and for TOEFL legal and academic reading ('the court affirmed…'). It pairs with 'commitment', 'ruling' and a 'that'-clause. Distinguish it from confirm (to check a fact): to affirm is to declare a stance, often a moral or legal one. Its direct opposite move is to refute.