in the affirmative

in the affirmative

Showing one's assent. Dave answered in the affirmative, so he'll definitely be at the party.
See also: affirmative
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

in the affirmative

in the form of an answer that means yes. The soldier answered in the affirmative by nodding his head "yes." My manager's response was in the affirmative.
See also: affirmative
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • out of one's
  • will do
  • on one's
  • on someone's
  • hoo-ah
  • Is the Pope (a) Catholic?
  • is the Pope a Catholic?
  • Is the Pope Catholic?
  • (Have you) been OK?
  • assent
References in classic literature
"C'est moi, n'est-ce pas?" And receiving an answer in the affirmative, Stepan Arkadyevitch, forgetting the favor he had meant to ask of Lidia Ivanovna, and forgetting his sister's affairs, caring for nothing, but filled with the sole desire to get away as soon as possible, went out on tiptoe and ran out into the street as though from a plague-stricken house.
In a hurried manner, he replied in the affirmative.
And the third, simulation, in the affirmative; when a man industriously and expressly feigns and pretends to be, that he is not.
Natasha quietly repeated her question, and her face and whole manner were so serious, though she was still holding the ends of her handkerchief, that the major ceased smiling and after some reflection- as if considering in how far the thing was possible- replied in the affirmative.
The landlady answered in the affirmative, saying, "There were a great many very good quality and gentlefolks in it now.
Many lawyers routinely file a boilerplate reply along the lines of "the plaintiff denies all of the defendant's affirmative defenses and demands strict proof thereof." Spector and Turner explain that such a reply is a waste of time, since plaintiffs are deemed to have denied the factual allegations in the affirmative defenses.
Review your office's historical data in the affirmative claims management program.
In that decision, a majority of the Court found both the use of quotas in the affirmative action program of the University of California at Davis's medical school and the school's goal of remedying the effects of societal discrimination to be in violation of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
While the president's announcement and the ensuing reaction dominated the headlines, Solicitor General Theodore Olson submitted a set of briefs in the affirmative action case that "diverged substantially from the rhetoric of the president's prime-time statement," wrote New York Tunes legal affairs analyst Linda Greenhouse.
The conventional wisdom is that the Republicans are worried about alienating Hispanics and white women--a view that is not supported by polling which finds that values play as important a role as interests in the affirmative action debate.
By organizing around a demand for shared governance to guarantee academic freedom, we will draw in faculty who are currently sitting on the fence in the affirmative action debate.
take military action, 35% of those over 65 replied in the affirmative, as compared with 47% of the general population.
Recent reforms in the affirmative action programs in the California State Civil Service illustrate why.
The decision to exclude Asian-Americans is also troubling since Asians play a poignant role in the affirmative action debate as a minority group generally believed to be hurt by race-sensitive admissions.
Edley lays out three different visions in the affirmative action debate: the colorblind vision, which repudiates both discrimination and preferences; the remedial vision, in which affirmative action is a temporary remedy to discrimination; and the diversity vision, in which affirmative action is used to foster inclusiveness, even in the absence of discrimination.