value-affirmation
|val-ue-af-firm-a-tion|
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/ˈvæljuː əˈfɝːmeɪʃən/
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/ˈvæljuː əfəˈmeɪʃən/
confirming worth
Etymology
'value-affirmation' originates from Modern English, combining the noun 'value' (from Old French/Latin roots) and 'affirmation' (from Latin 'affirmatio'), where 'value' referred to 'worth' and 'affirmation' referred to 'a making firm or confirming'.
The element 'value' comes via Old French 'valeur' from Latin 'valere' meaning 'to be strong, to be worth'; 'affirmation' comes from Latin 'affirmatio' (from 'affirmare' meaning 'to make firm' or 'to assert') and passed through Late Latin and Old French into Middle and Modern English; the compound 'value-affirmation' is a modern English formation combining those two elements.
Individually, 'value' originally related to strength or worth and evolved to mean 'worth, importance'; 'affirmation' originally meant 'making firm' or 'confirming', and evolved into 'a declaration or assertion'. Combined as 'value-affirmation', the term now commonly denotes either the act of affirming values (especially in psychology) or a confirmation of worth.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a practice or psychological intervention in which a person reflects on or affirms their core personal values to protect self-integrity and reduce perceived threat or stress (often called a 'values affirmation' in psychology).
The teacher used a brief value-affirmation exercise at the start of class to help students manage stress before exams.
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Noun 2
a statement or act that confirms, asserts, or recognizes the worth, importance, or usefulness of something (i.e., an affirmation that something has value).
The award was intended as a value-affirmation of the artist's contribution to the community.
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Last updated: 2025/11/09 06:53