How to Use affirmative in a Sentence

affirmative

1 of 2 adjective
  • She gave an affirmative answer, not a negative answer.
  • Trump turned to look at those who answered in the affirmative.
    — Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2024
  • Many voters see their ballots not as an affirmative choice so much as a move to block bad acts.
    — David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023
  • So not even talking about the affirmative case, but fear the other side.
    — CBS News, 30 Oct. 2022
  • The packed courtroom seemed to answer in the affirmative to that one.
    — Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Nov. 2022
  • The tribe then nodded in the affirmative.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
  • If nothing else, this is one of the most affirmative musicals of the last decade.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
  • There's still time for the Badgers to answer that in the affirmative.
    — Erick Smith, USA TODAY, 9 Nov. 2021
  • Be sure the question is answered in the affirmative if such a discount was taken.
    — Bob Carlson, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024
  • For the better part of the past decade, the Warriors have answered in the affirmative.
    — Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2024
  • Jawan switched up his response this time, nodding in the affirmative while looking semi-pleased with his badass self.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Two-thirds being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended.
    — Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2023
  • The answer to both questions is affirmative.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 June 2026
  • The ripple effect of such affirmative word-of-mouth advertising is worth its weight in gold.
    — Rhett Power, Forbes, 20 Mar. 2022
  • Must have been part of the UMass affirmative-action program.
    — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Neapolitan pizza cart Reeva is the rare find that answers both in the affirmative.
    — oregonlive, 13 Sep. 2022
  • Now, the agreement needs one more affirmative vote at the council’s next meeting for final approval.
    — Austin Hornbostel, Nashville Tennessean, 17 Sep. 2025
  • The question has been asked in Illinois, but no affirmative answer has been given.
    — Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, 28 Jan. 2022
  • Schultz said that her vote counted as an affirmative one due to the city’s municipal code on silent abstentions.
    — Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2023
  • The affirmative case for democracy must be made anew so that no one dares forget the price that has been paid for our freedom — or the price to be paid for its loss.
    — Richard K. Sherwin, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2024
  • In Wendell, a small town in the western part of the state, more than 80 percent of votes cast were in the affirmative.
    — Daigo Fujiwara, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Nov. 2022
  • In order for any changes to be approved, the rule must receive an affirmative vote from at least 24 of the 32 teams.
    — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Three fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.
    — Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 12 May 2022
  • The affirmative model that emerges from applying the framework is defined by a pattern rather than by a single bill.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 15 May 2026
  • However, so far, there has yet to be any affirmative evidence collected that shows one of the anomalies is a space alien.
    — Julia Musto, Fox News, 17 Dec. 2022
  • The boy nodded in the affirmative and Carvalho called the police.
    — Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 8 June 2022
  • He is suspended without pay, and if two-thirds of senators vote in the affirmative, he will be removed from office.
    — Lauren McGaughy, Dallas News, 10 July 2023
  • There might be a sadness in that pondering, but the song itself felt too good (and still feels too good) to leave me with anything but an affirmative response.
    — New York Times, 14 Mar. 2022
  • Always begin with an affirmative when giving a critique.
    — John Baldoni, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Local leaders said Flores was here legally on a valid work visa with an affirmative pending asylum case.
    — Jennifer Borrasso, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026

affirmative

2 of 2 noun
  • Their widened eyes were enough to answer in the affirmative.
    — Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 9 May 2026
  • Jordan choked up and then answered in the affirmative.
    — Scott Feinberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Lue replied when a reporter answered in the affirmative.
    — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
  • But some people will embrace it, and answer in the affirmative.
    — Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 1 Dec. 2025
  • And Rogan replied in the affirmative.
    — Nick Mordowanec, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025
  • All answered in the affirmative.
    — Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
  • Howard asked Nuñez, to which the FBI agent answered in the affirmative.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
  • DeRosa answered in the affirmative.
    — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Mohan responds in the affirmative, noting the studios that people like Deon and Mann have built.
    — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Meaning a third potentially couldn't answer that question in the affirmative.
    — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Colbert quipped, to which McCartney answered in the affirmative.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 22 May 2026
  • To which Kylie responded in the affirmative, agreeing that she's seen elements of birth order theory play out in real life with her four daughters.
    — Tabitha Parent, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
  • Asked whether society has gone too far in accommodating transgender people, 49% answered in the affirmative.
    — Stephen Humphries, Christian Science Monitor, 23 Jan. 2025
  • McConaughey response was immediate, and in the affirmative.
    — Paul Tenorio, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
  • When asked if Brooks, who is coming off the second ACL surgery of his young career, would be available for the offseason program, Canales answered in the affirmative.
    — Mike Kaye march 30, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2026
  • While 1990s Teri Hatcher would indeed reply in the affirmative, the nagging disbelief is relatable.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
  • This question was answered in the thundering affirmative by two groups of late-19th-century Protestant social activists whose retail legacies continue, even now, to thrive across all 50 states.
    — Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
  • Deputy Superintendent Derald Davis answered in the affirmative and added that administrative support is being given to those staff members and/or the school site.
    — Connye Griffin, Kansas City Star, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Angie Pepper, a philosopher at the University of Roehampton, in the United Kingdom, answers in the affirmative.
    — Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked if Prescott is playing the way former Cowboys QB Tony Romo did near the end of his career, and Jones gave an affirmative.
    — Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
  • With its passage out of committee and the support of Wong, the rezoning likely has the support of the majority of the board, with Supervisors Melgar, Mandelman, Danny Sauter, Bilal Mahmood, Stephen Sherrill and Matt Dorsey likely to vote in the affirmative.
    — J.k. Dineen, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'affirmative.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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