| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| SYLLABICATION: | as·sure |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   -sh r |
| TRANSITIVE VERB: | Inflected forms: as·sured, as·sur·ing, as·sures
1. To inform positively, as to remove doubt: assured us that the train would be on time. 2. To cause to feel sure: assured her of his devotion. 3. To give confidence to; reassure. 4. To make certain; ensure: “Nothing in history assures the success of our civilization” (Herbert J. Muller). 5. To make safe or secure. 6. Chiefly British To insure, as against loss. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English assuren, from Old French assurer, from Vulgar Latin *ass c r re, to make sure : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin scrus, secure; see secure. | | OTHER FORMS: | as·sura·ble —ADJECTIVE
as·surer, as·suror —NOUN
| | USAGE NOTE: | Assure, ensure, and insure all mean “to make secure or certain.” Only assure is used with reference to a person in the sense of “to set the mind at rest”: assured the leader of his loyalty. Although ensure and insure are generally interchangeable, only insure is now widely used in American English in the commercial sense of “to guarantee persons or property against risk.”
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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