Definition of ASCERTAIN

Choose the Right Synonym for ascertain

discover, ascertain, determine, unearth, learn mean to find out what one did not previously know. discover may apply to something requiring exploration or investigation or to a chance encounter. discovered the source of the river ascertain implies effort to find the facts or the truth proceeding from awareness of ignorance or uncertainty. attempts to ascertain the population of the region determine emphasizes the intent to establish the facts definitely or precisely. unable to determine the origin of the word unearth implies bringing to light something forgotten or hidden. unearth old records learn may imply acquiring knowledge with little effort or conscious intention (as by simply being told) or it may imply study and practice. I learned her name only today learning Greek

Examples of ascertain in a Sentence

We look at digital media—images, audio and video—and we try to ascertain whether or not they've been manipulated. We use mathematical and computational techniques to detect alterations in them. — Claudia Dreifus, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2007 Currently, an official trying to ascertain road damage in the aftermath of an earthquake might have to keep one eye on the TV news while listening to both radio traffic reports and the police scanner. Since most of these data are available in digital form, the software could take them all in, process them and present a report outlining the best evacuation routes. — Kevin Hogan, Technology Review, April 2002 With an equation linking the money wage to prices, the degree of inflation could be ascertained. — Sidney Weintraub, Modern Economic Thought, (1977) 1993

Recent Examples on the Web

The major in charge of us, a combat veteran, quickly ascertained who was accompanied by their wife. — Laura Demarco, cleveland.com, "Apollo 11 Moon Landing: Readers shares their memories of the momentous event for mankind," 14 July 2019 In January 2018, the bank informed the CBI that diamond merchants Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi had defrauded it of, what was later ascertained as, Rs14,357 crore. — Kuwar Singh, Quartz India, "Another major scam rocks India’s fourth largest bank," 7 July 2019 Latino motorists, the suit says, were pulled over by troopers who immediately sought to ascertain the immigration status of the car’s occupants. — Jeff Gammage, ProPublica, "ACLU Sues Pennsylvania State Police, Alleging They’ve Overstepped in Acting as Immigration Authorities," 5 July 2019 The Embassy has facilitated contact between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Fiji’s Ministry of Health to ascertain the causes of death and to assist in any related measures. — Joelle Goldstein, PEOPLE.com, "Father of Woman Who Died of Mysterious Illness in Fiji Speaks Out About Telling Her Son," 5 June 2019 In the hours that followed the initial reports of the shooting on Sunday night, the team worked feverishly to ascertain information about what had transpired while also trying to formulate a plan to help. — Alex Speier, BostonGlobe.com, "Red Sox brass kept their mission simple: Help David Ortiz," 10 June 2019 His most important and dangerous mission took place in 1944, when he was sent to Zurich to attend a lecture by scientist Werner Heisenberg to ascertain if the Nazis were building an atomic bomb. — Susan King, latimes.com, "Aviva Kempner doc seeks ‘the real story’ of Moe Berg, ‘The Spy Behind Home Plate’," 6 June 2019 The mantle material was discovered using the Visible and Near Infrared Spectrometer on Yutu-2, which can ascertain the chemical composition of rocks by studying their reflected light. — Jonathan O'callaghan, Scientific American, "From the Lunar Far Side, China’s Rover Reveals the Moon’s Hidden Depths," 15 May 2019 Collecting information from as many sources as possible is important to ascertaining the truth. — Kelebogile Zvobgo, The Conversation, "Maryland has created a truth commission on lynchings – can it deliver?," 14 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ascertain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.