Synonym Chooser

How is the word affirm distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of affirm are assert, avow, declare, and protest. While all these words mean "to state positively usually in anticipation of denial or objection," affirm implies conviction based on evidence, experience, or faith.

affirmed the existence of an afterlife

When would assert be a good substitute for affirm?

While in some cases nearly identical to affirm, assert implies stating confidently without need for proof or regard for evidence.

asserted that modern music is just noise

When might avow be a better fit than affirm?

Although the words avow and affirm have much in common, avow stresses frank declaration and acknowledgment of personal responsibility for what is declared.

avowed that all investors would be repaid in full

When can declare be used instead of affirm?

While the synonyms declare and affirm are close in meaning, declare stresses open or public statement.

declared her support for the candidate

When is it sensible to use protest instead of affirm?

The words protest and affirm are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, protest emphasizes affirming in the face of denial or doubt.

protested that he really had been misquoted

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of affirm Kendrick affirmed in a March note that investors might benefit from viewing bitcoin as both an additional big tech stock and as a hedge against traditional finance, combining the best of both worlds. Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 30 Apr. 2025 On the bench, like a trainer hyping up a boxer, Murray’s Denver Nuggets teammates continuously affirmed him, telling him to keep his head up, assuring him that good things would eventually start to happen. Tony Jones, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2025 Heineken reported first-quarter revenue growth that beat analysts’ expectations on Wednesday morning and affirmed its full-year guidance despite the tariff risks. Brandon Gomez, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2025 Upholding their right to speak, however painful, affirmed a core truth: An America where even the most abhorrent speech is protected by law, rather than by power or whim, is ultimately a safer America for all. Ari Hart, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for affirm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affirm
Verb
  • Some Justices insist on total secrecy from their clerks, including about even the fact of their having worked on particular cases.
    Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 15 May 2025
  • Sauer insisted that national injunctions were not the right mechanism for challenging Presidential orders like the one at issue in the case.
    Nik Popli, Time, 15 May 2025
Verb
  • Trump could even simply include iPhones under the trade deficit emergency that already formed the basis for tariffs declared earlier, Meyer said.
    Jody Godoy, USA Today, 24 May 2025
  • The memo declared the DOJ would defer to federal agencies to set rules — and only enforce those rules once defined.
    Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 24 May 2025
Verb
  • The Department of Justice in Maine filed a lawsuit alleging the state’s Department of Education is out of compliance with Title IX.
    Amy DeLaura, The Washington Examiner, 15 May 2025
  • According to the criminal complaint, the teen alleged that Rossman then took her into his garage and locked the door behind him.
    Lesley Cosme Torres, People.com, 15 May 2025
Verb
  • In response, two of Trump's senior officials made statements asserting that the message was a threat toward the president.
    Rachel Raposas, People.com, 16 May 2025
  • Inspired by classic boom-bap production, lyrically, the track sees Young assert her agency in the bedroom with a new flame.
    Sophie Williams, Billboard, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • But McLaughlin claimed that a Dallas Police detective inadvertently attached the wrong photo to the entry.
    Rick Jervis, USA Today, 18 May 2025
  • Some of them have already been effectively dismantled by DOGE, like the U.S. Institute of Peace, the site of a dramatic daylong standoff between USIP staffers and representatives of the cost-cutting initiative claiming to be new leadership.
    Stephen Fowler, NPR, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • Notably, an anonymous poll of his NBA peers by Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic proclaimed the 6-foot-5 Iowa State product to be the league's most overrated player.
    Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
  • Additionally, all 2025 mayoral candidates, former police commissioners, district attorneys, and public officials must proclaim that NYC should not obey the egregious orders.
    Arnold Kriss, New York Daily News, 15 May 2025
Verb
  • The Appropriations Committee budget, released in late April, would maintain the extra $40 million in state payments in the next two fiscal years and add another $124 million in special education grants in each of the next two years.
    Jessika Harkay, Hartford Courant, 22 May 2025
  • Trim trees and shrubs to give your lawn adequate sunlight, maintain a fertilization program, and water regularly and deeply.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 22 May 2025
Verb
  • The actress, producer, and fashion icon posted an Instagram video on May 19, 2025, professing her love for the makeup essential.
    Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 19 May 2025
  • Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation Foundation Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation $49 Nordstrom Readers have once again professed their love for the Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Foundation, a rare full-coverage formula that doesn't smother the skin and crack up by midday.
    Sophia Panych, Allure, 15 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Affirm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affirm. Accessed 29 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on affirm

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