Reconfirmation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The action of validating a prior assertion or agreement again through verification or affirmation is essential in many contexts
2. The act of verifying or affirming something for a second time to ensure accuracy or agreement
3. A repeated confirmation undertaken to reaffirm the validity or truth of a previous statement or arrangement

Etymology: Reconfirmation is a plain compound: the prefix "re-" ("again") attached to "confirmation," so the word literally means confirming something a second time. The root of "confirmation" is Latin "confirmare," meaning "to make firm" or "to strengthen," built from "com-" (intensive, "together" or "thoroughly") and "firmare" ("to make firm," from "firmus," "firm, stable"). The idea of making something firm is the common thread: a confirmation locks an agreement or statement in place, and a reconfirmation locks it in again. The "re-" prefix has a long pedigree in English, descending from Latin "re-" through Old French, which is why it appears so freely in words like "return" and "repeat." Its use here is productive rather than ancient: adding "re-" to a noun to mean a renewed act of the same kind is a pattern English speakers can apply to almost any formal act, which explains why the compound is easy to form even though it is not old.

Synonyms: validation, authentication, verification, substantiation, affirmation

Antonyms: disconfirmation, negation, rejection, denial, dismissal