affirmative

Everyday

1. Affirmative means saying "yes" or agreeing. tree →
2. In grammar, an affirmative sentence is a positive statement, not a negative one ("I like cats" not "I don't like cats"). tree →
3. "Affirmative!" (informal) is a way of saying yes, as in films with soldiers or pilots. tree →
4. Affirmative action (USA) means policies to help groups who have been treated unfairly. tree →

In the lessons

In English grammar lessons it contrasts with negative sentences. In debates, the affirmative side argues for the motion. Phrases: in the affirmative, affirmative sentence, affirmative answer.

Examples

• "I can swim" is an affirmative sentence. tree →
• She answered in the affirmative: yes. tree →
• "Affirmative, captain!" tree →
• The affirmative team spoke first in the debate. tree →
• Change the negative sentence into the affirmative. tree →
• He nodded, an affirmative sign. tree →
• She fancied she heard answers in the affirmative, and then again she wasn’t sure. tree →

Note

Opposite: negative. Formal; everyday word: yes, positive. Verb: affirm.

In Jewish tradition

Here it means the "yes" side of a pair of opposites, set against the negative.

Interpretation. In Sefer Yetzirah the three Mother letters are read as a balance: one side affirms, one denies, and the third reconciles them.

Examples

• There are three of which every one of them stands by itself; one is in the affirmative, the other in the negative and one equalizes them. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) tree →

Note

Opposite: negative. Formal; everyday word: yes, positive. Verb: affirm.