Meanings
nounaffirmance (countable and uncountable, plural affirmances)
plural affirmances · alternative affirmaunce
- uncountableThe act of affirming, affirmation.
- countablelawA decision upholding the decision of a lower court or agency.
The District [of Columbia] authored an amicus brief on behalf of 18 states urging affirmance.
2021, Harrison Stark and Loren Alikhan, A false choice between state sovereignty and multi-racial democracy, in: SCOTUSblog (Feb 24 2021)1 more example
Of these 248 appeals the Appellate Division reviewed 4, rendering 3 affirmances and 1 reversal, 75% affirmances, 25% reversals.
1934, Report of the Commission on the Administration of Justice in New York State, page 388
Origin
Either affirm + -ance or from Old French afermance
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
affirmance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/affirmance
MLA
“affirmance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/affirmance. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “affirmance,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/affirmance.
Source: affirmance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.