yes
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An affirmative expression.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
yehsIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈjɛs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An affirmative expression; an answer that shows agreement or acceptance.
“I was hoping for a yes.”
A vote of support or in favor of something.
verb
colloquialtransitive
To agree with, affirm, approve.
colloquialintransitive
To say "yes".
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An affirmative expression; an answer that shows agreement or acceptance.
Used this way, yes is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“I was hoping for a yes.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use yes
- “I was hoping for a yes.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.