6 Difference between Affirm and Confirm (With Table)

In English, there are words that are pronounced similarly but they have completely different meanings and are also spelled differently. This group of words is referred to as homophones.

Most people use homophones interchangeably without necessarily knowing that the two have completely different meanings from each other.

Affirm and confirm are some of the words that have been used interchangeably or to mean opposite when people are talking to each other.

So, what is the main difference between affirm and confirm? Affirm is to justify a positive statement and to exercise it as a claim or cause while confirm is used to prove that the statement is valid or to encourage its validity.

For more information about the difference between affirm and confirm in tabular form, continue reading the article. You will also get to learn of the similarities between the two.

Comparison Table (Affirm vs Confirm)

Basic Terms	Affirm	Confirm
Meaning	It is used to mean to justify a positive statement and to exercise it as a claim or cause.	It is used to mean a prove that a statement is valid or to encourage its validity.
Noun	It forms the noun affirmance.	It forms the noun conformability.
Adjective	It forms adjectively affirmable.	It forms adjectively confirmable.
Example in sentence	My sister affirmed her findings.	It was confirmed from the DNA results that they were related.
Usage	It is only used in positive statements.	It can be used in both positive and negative statements.
Type of verb	It is used as a transitive verb.	It is used as an intransitive verb.

What is Affirm?

Affirm means to justify a positive statement and to exercise it as a claim or cause of something. It is a verb hence it can be inflected by tense.

It is a transitive verb that requires a direct subject along with one or more direct objects. For example; she solemnly affirmed his innocence where innocence is a direct object.

It is also used to give support to someone or something that you are loyal to. It acts like you are showcasing your dedication.

It is only used in positive statements unlike confirm whereby it can be both used in negative and positive statements.

It is used to form different classes of words such as nouns and adjectives. It can form the noun affirmance and the adjective affirmable.

What is Confirm?

Confirm is coined from a Lain word’ confirmare’ which is used to reinforce. The word has two meanings. The first meaning is used to declare the truth about a fact or statement and it is also used to encourage the validity of a statement.

It is used as an intransitive verb. It does not require a direct object. For example; the accident confirmed his fear of driving.

It is used both in negative and positive statements. Unlike affirm whereby it is used only in positive statements.

The word can form words in other classes such as nouns and adjectives. The noun formed from the word is conformability while the adjective formed is conformable.

Main Difference between Affirm and Confirm

Affirm is used to justify a positive statement and exercise it as a claim or cause while confirm is to mean a prove that a statement is valid.
Affirm is a transitive verb while confirm is an intransitive verb.
Affirm is only used in positive statements while confirm is used both in positive and negative statements.

Similarities between Affirm and Confirm

They are both verbs.
Both can form other classes of words such as nouns and adjectives.
They are homophones.

Conclusion

The word affirms and confirm have been used wrongly during conversation and this is because of the assumption that they are pronounced the same.

However, the two are used completely differently and mean differently. The main difference between affirming and confirming is that; to affirm is to justify a positive statement and exercise its claims while confirm is to prove that a statement is valid.

Confirm is also used to mean someone has been appointed in a certain position and has been allowed to work in it.

More Sources and References: