Affirmative — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a reply of affirmation

affirming or giving assent

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/kælˈɑːmbə/

🇬🇧British English

/bɪznˈɑːɡə/

🇮🇳Indian English

/bɪznˈɑːɡə/

4 syllables Say it as /kælˈɑːmbə/.

Examples

he answered in the affirmative
an affirmative decision
affirmative votes

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

approving optimistic plausive approbative affirmatory approbatory

Antonyms

negative

Parts of Speech

noun	a reply of affirmation “he answered in the affirmative”
adjective	affirming or giving assent “an affirmative decision”
adjective	expecting the best “an affirmative outlook”
adjective	expressing or manifesting praise or approval “approbative criticism”

Word Forms

affirmative	adjective	affirming or giving assent
affirmative	noun	a reply of affirmation
affirm	verb	say yes to
affirmativeness	noun	the agreeable quality of one who assents
optimism	noun	the optimistic feeling that all is going to turn out well
approve	verb	give sanction to

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

positiv

eine bejahende Antwort

🇪🇸Spanish

afirmativo

una respuesta de afirmación

🇮🇹Italian

affermativa

una risposta affermativa

🇳🇱Dutch

bevestigend

een bevestigend antwoord

🇵🇹Portuguese

afirmativo

uma resposta de afirmação

🇷🇺Russian

утвердительный

ответ-подтверждение

India

🇮🇳Hindi

सकारात्मक

पुष्टि का उत्तर

🇧🇩Bengali

ইতিবাচক

নিশ্চিতকরণের একটি উত্তর

🇮🇳Tamil

உறுதியான

உறுதிமொழி பதில்

🇮🇳Telugu

నిశ్చయాత్మకమైన

ధృవీకరణ యొక్క సమాధానం

🇮🇳Marathi

होकारार्थी

पुष्टीकरणाचे उत्तर

🇮🇳Gujarati

હકારાત્મક

સમર્થનનો જવાબ

🇮🇳Kannada

ದೃಢವಾದ

ದೃಢೀಕರಣದ ಉತ್ತರ

🇮🇳Malayalam

സ്ഥിരീകരിക്കുന്ന

സ്ഥിരീകരണത്തിൻ്റെ ഒരു മറുപടി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਹਾਂ-ਪੱਖੀ

ਪੁਸ਼ਟੀ ਦਾ ਜਵਾਬ

🇵🇰Urdu

اثبات

اثبات کا جواب

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

肯定

肯定的答复

🇯🇵Japanese

肯定的

肯定の返事

🇰🇷Korean

긍정

긍정의 대답

🇻🇳Vietnamese

khẳng định

câu trả lời khẳng định

🇹🇭Thai

ยืนยัน

คำตอบของการยืนยัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

setuju

jawaban penegasan

🇵🇭Filipino

sang-ayon

isang tugon ng paninindigan

🇲🇾Malay

afirmatif

jawapan penegasan

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

إيجابي

رد التأكيد

🇮🇷Persian

مثبت

یک پاسخ تاییدی

🇹🇷Turkish

olumlu

bir onay yanıtı

🇮🇱Hebrew

חִיוּבִי

תשובה של אישור

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'affirmative'?

The primary meaning of 'affirmative' is 'a reply of affirmation'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'affirmative' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'affirmative' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'affirmative' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'affirmative' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'affirmative' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'affirmative' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'affirmative' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'affirmative' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'affirmative' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'affirmative' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted