Confirm

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kənˈfɜːm/

Definitions

1. to establish the truth or correctness of something previously believed or suspected
2. To prove that something previously believed or claimed is actually correct or true
3. To verify and show that a statement, belief, or suspicion is accurate or justified

Etymology: The verb "confirm" carries a sense of making something solid rather than merely agreeing with it. Its Latin ancestor, "cōnfirmāre", meant "to make firm, strengthen, establish", built from "con-", meaning "together" or intensively, and "firmāre", "to make firm", which itself comes from "firmus", "firm". So at its root the word is about reinforcing something until it cannot easily give way. That physical sense of strengthening was the starting point. The Latin word passed into Old French as "confermer", and English borrowed it in Middle English as "confirmen" and "confermen". Early English uses leaned toward establishing or ratifying something, such as an agreement, a custom, or an authority, making it official and binding. The shift to "prove something true" came from the same logic. If a claim is made firm by evidence, it is confirmed. The word therefore moved from strengthening objects and institutions to strengthening statements, which is how we use it today when we confirm a fact, a booking, or a suspicion.

Synonyms: verify, affirm, validate

Antonyms: deny, disprove