YES

yes

(noun) an affirmative; “I was hoping for a yes”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Particle

yes

A word used to show agreement or acceptance.

A word used to indicate disagreement or dissent in reply to a negative statement.

Answer to a question presuming one answer when all answers are correct.

An exclamation of pleasure or approval, usually transcribed with an exclamation point.

Usage notes

• In Old and Middle English, yes was a more forceful affirmative than yea.

• An example of yes used to disagree with a statement: the questions "You don’t want it, do you?" and "Don’t you want it?" are answered by "yes" if the respondent does want the item, and "no" if not. Many languages use a specific word for this purpose; see translation table below.

Synonyms

• Dialect or archaic forms: arr, ay, aye, yea, yassuh

• Nautical, military, telecommunications: affirmative

• Colloquial or slang forms: ya, yah, yeah, yeh, yep, yeppers, yup, yuppers, yus, ahuh, mhm, uh huh.

• See also: yes

Antonyms

• Standard form: no

• Nautical, military, telecommunications: negative

• Dialect or archaic forms: nay

• Colloquial or slang forms: ixnay, nah, naw, nope

• See also: no

Coordinate terms

• (expression of agreement or acceptance): nod

Interjection

yes!

Used to express pleasure, joy, or great excitement.

Antonym: no

Response that confirms that the user is paying attention.

Noun

yes (plural yeses or yesses)

An affirmative expression; an answer that shows agreement or acceptance.

Synonyms: aye, yea, nod

Antonyms: no, nay

A vote of support or in favor/favour of something.

Synonyms: aye, yea

Antonym: nay

Verb

yes (third-person singular simple present yeses, present participle yessing, simple past and past participle yessed)

(colloquial, transitive) to agree with, affirm, approve.

Synonyms: agree, consent, nod

(slang) to attempt to flatter someone by habitually agreeing

Anagrams

• Sey., Sye, eys, sye

Source: Wiktionary


Yes, adv. Etym: [OE. yis, ýis, ýes, ýise, AS. gese, gise; probably fr. geá yea + swa so. sq. root188. See Yea, and So.]

Definition: Ay; yea; -- a word which expresses affirmation or consent; -- opposed to Ant: no.

Note: Yes is used, like yea, to enforce, by repetition or addition, something which precedes; as, you have done all this -- yes, you have done more. "Yes, you despise the man books confined." Pope.

Note: "The fine distinction between `yea' and `yes,' `nay' and `no,' that once existed in English, has quite disappeared. `Yea' and `nay' in Wyclif's time, and a good deal later, were the answers to questions framed in the affirmative. `Will he come' To this it would have been replied, `Yea' or `Nay', as the case might be. But, `Will he not come' To this the answer would have been `Yes' or `No.' Sir Thomas More finds fault with Tyndale, that in his translation of the Bible he had not observed this distinction, which was evidently therefore going out even then, that is, in the reign of Henry VIII.; and shortly after it was quite forgotten." Trench.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 May 2025

CRITICAL

(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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