Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
affirmative, negative (adjs., nn.)
We were answered in the affirmative. His reply was negative [or in the negative]: these uses are often criticized for being stuffy circumlocutions, but they have a long tradition in English, particularly in the law. In other uses where they are not too ponderous, they sometimes do quite well.
