defend vs affirm

defend and affirm both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
defend	No	No	Yes	No
affirm	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, affirm is a hypernym of defend; that is, affirm is a word with a broader meaning than defend:

defend (verb)	affirm (verb)
argue or speak in defense of	establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
state or assert	to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
be on the defensive; act against an attack	say yes to
protect against a challenge or attack
protect or fight for as a champion
fight against or resist strongly
be the defense counsel for someone in a trial