Affirmative

How to spell affirmative

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce affirmative

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does affirmative mean?

1. adjectiveExpressing agreement, confirmation, or a positive answer.
2. nounA statement or answer that means yes or confirms something.

Affirmative in a sentence

• adjective

  The committee gave an affirmative response to the funding request.

• noun

  She answered the question in the affirmative without any hesitation.

• adjective

  A clear nod is an affirmative gesture in most cultures.

• noun

  The board voted, and the motion carried in the affirmative.

Where does affirmative come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb affirmare, meaning 'to make firm' or 'to strengthen', which was built from the prefix ad- ('to, toward') and firmus ('strong, steady, secure'). From that verb came the late Latin adjective affirmativus, describing something that asserts or confirms rather than denies. English took the word in during the late 1300s through Old French affirmatif, where it kept the legal and logical sense of a statement that says 'yes' and confirms a proposition. The same firmus root sits inside everyday relatives such as 'firm', 'confirm', and 'firmament', which is a handy reminder that the spelling keeps a doubled f from the assimilated prefix (ad- becoming af- before the f). Because that double f is created by the prefix meeting the root, it is the part most worth fixing in memory.

How the word is built

• af- (variant of ad-: to, toward)
• firm (from Latin firmus: strong, steady)
• -ative (adjective/noun suffix)