Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. It is so; as you say or ask. Used to express affirmation, agreement, positive confirmation, or consent.
- n. An affirmative or consenting reply.
- n. An affirmative vote or voter.
- v. To give an affirmative reply to.
- interj. Used to express great satisfaction, approval, or happiness.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- A word which expresses affirmation or consent: opposed to no. It is also used, like yea, to enforce by repetition or addition something which precedes.
- [For distinction between yes and yea, no and nay, see yea.]
Wiktionary
- prep. A word used to show agreement or acceptance.
- prep. A word used to indicate disagreement or dissent in reply to a negative statement.
- interj. Used to express pleasure, joy, or great excitement.
- n. An affirmative expression; an answer that shows agreement or acceptance.
- n. A vote of support or in favor/favour of something.
- v. colloquial, transitive To agree with, to affirm, to approve.
- v. slang To attempt to flatter someone by habitually agreeing.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adv. Ay; yea; -- a word which expresses affirmation or consent; -- opposed to
no .
WordNet 3.0
- n. an affirmative
Etymologies
- From Middle English yes, yis, from Old English ġēse, ġīse, ġȳse, *ġīese (“yes, of course, so be it”), equivalent to ġēa ("yes", "so") + sī(e) ("may it be"). Compare yea. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English gēse, so be it! : probably gēa, so;+ sīe, may it be so. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Hi Ray,,Eric and I were just discussing EBooks the other day and although the technology is very exciting, there is something about a book, especially one that smells,,yes, yes, Eric and I smell our books.”
“_No_," if as to Taprobane in connexion with Ceylon we say both "_Yes_" and "_No_," -- not the less we come back with a reiterated "_Yes, yes, yes_," upon Ceylon as the crest and eagle's plume of the Indies, as the priceless pearl, the ruby without a flaw, and (once again we say it) as the Pandora of oriental islands.”
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine — Volume 54, No. 337, November, 1843
“Of course I said yes -- _yes_, it would be entirely proper and perfectly splendid, though they might have forgotten to put anything of the sort into books of etiquette.”
“Salvation Army, I needn't be a martyr any longer, but should be saved at once, I would have screamed "Yes -- yes -- _yes_!”
“Yes, yes, _yes_!" came the response from two score eager voices.”
“Why, yes -- uneasily one answers, _yes_; but still the case records”
“So anyway, Brooklyn was really nice, once I get back to s’pore im going to see if I can dload those pieces oh yes, and the musical was performed by just 5 pple yes ”
“Rolf,' I said, 'if you could say yes and no, you would be able to talk to us; now, look here! when you want to say _yes_, give us your paw _twice_, and if _no_, then give it _three_ times,' and I at once put this suggestion to an easy test, for I asked him if he would like to be spanked -- and he returned a decided _no_!”
“Incredibly, you can utter the word yes virtually anywhere—from Timbuktu to a multinational space station orbiting beyond the stratosphere—and be understood.”
“She puffed out the word yes as if she were blowing up a balloon.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘yes’.
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EN - 3-letter words of the pattern CVC
With the exception of abbreviations and mosaic words all types of words (proper names, past tense of verbs, etc.) are allowed.
for, was, not, his, but, has, had, can, her, him, new, now and 339 more...
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Tati's list
comfortable
comfortable, avocado, avoid, beautiful, beer, bear, brief, breath, bug, bias, burn, case and 97 more...
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Public List: Two by Fives
This is an experiment in public lists--something I've been thinking about for some time. The goal is to create a collection of short, powerful, evocative words.
This is an open list. A...icy, howl, hymn, thorn, fire, vile, mist, blunt, scum, dark, shot, gleam and 221 more...
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The weird, the wonderful and the plai...
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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Band or Brand?
Band names that are also common words or phrases.
genesis, who, beatles, journey, germs, sublime, doors, cars, nirvana, bangles, tool, pixies and 192 more...
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FUN - Beatles song titles
Typical words from Beatles song titles. Can you recreate the titles?
(Grammatical words have been omitted)polythene, Sun King, rhythm and blues, taxman, tripper, monkey business, mailman, matchbox, rock and roll, ooh, blue jay, reprise and 388 more...
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On with their heads!
Words that make other words with the addition of one letter at the beginning. The resulting words are tagged "behead".
men, his, yes, any, iota, limb, aged, laid, land, lead, read, word and 327 more...
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FUN - gestures
There are thousands of sign languages and possibly millions of gestures in human communication but not all of them have a name. Some are understood everywhere, some are understood everywhere but di...
okay sign, abhayamudra, apology, beckoning sign, Bellamy salute, benediction, blessing, blah-blah, "check, please” sign, clenched fist, Chinese number ge..., Clinton thumb and 360 more...
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3-letter Scrabble Words
aah, aal, aas, aba, abo, abs, aby, ace, act, add, ado, ads and 995 more...
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3 Letter Words
A list of English words that are three letters long.
ace, act, ade, ado, add, ads, age, ago, ail, air, aim, all and 397 more...
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cricket
everything cricket
batswomen, batswoman, batsmen, batsman, backlift, bail, beamer, blockhole, bodyline, bosie, bouncer, boundary and 471 more...
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fredrx's beautiful sounding list
two most beautiful words when put together
womb, philistine, poignant, wombastic, eschelon, macabre, precipitous, panache, misogynist, placebo, cacophony, aplomb and 43 more...
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Answers
Life is full of tests and challenges--with our busy schedules, it can be hard to find the time to study. Are you a student bombarded by a pop quiz? A witness testifying about that industrial accide...
true, false, All of the above., None of the above., D, C, B, A, 42, Not to my recolle..., children's laughter, a dentist's drill and 26 more...
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Purr words
Please add one snarl word for every purr word, in the interests of harmony.
Note: this list is for purr words. Snarl words belong on the other list, not this one. Only purr words need ...bumblebee, kitten, hummingbird, turtledove, felt, daffodil, hourglass, surf, satyr, gloved, honeyed, raspberry and 9 more...
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no little thing
it bothers me when i hear someone who have experienced something life changing use the phrase: now i appreciate the little things. I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE ANY LITTLE THINGS. everything is EXTRAOR...
letters, living, understand, narrow, behavior, personal, need, meant, untamed, world, soldier, 'cause and 241 more...
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Twitter favourites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favourite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
bumwank, calamity, recalcitrant, gayenese, jeeze, nonsense, flabbergasted, juxtapose, procrastinating, ossanity, biffing, loser and 1972 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for yes.
gangerh There's something about the word 'Yes' It just works wonders. When you speak to customers use it a lot. It's equally important to avoid the word 'no.'
'15 words that will make you money' Jul 23, 2009
oroboros "God says yes to me". May 21, 2008
skipvia Submission, happiness, resignation, acquiescence, discovery... Dec 19, 2007