ascertain

verb as·cer·tain \ ˌa-sər-ˈtān \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

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Examples: ascertain in a Sentence

Definition of ascertain

ascertained; ascertaining; ascertains

transitive verb

1 : to find out or learn with certainty

ascertain the truth

trying to ascertain the cause of the fire

information that can be easily ascertained on the Internet

2 archaic : to make certain, exact, or precise

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ascertainable

play \-ˈtā-nə-bəl\ adjective

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ascertainment

play \-ˈtān-mənt\ noun

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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 of ascertain from the Web

How the data was ascertained, compiled and analyzed PART 1: A confidential 76-question Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey was used to evaluate employees’ workplace experience and company culture (three-quarters of each company’s score).

— paula hubbs cohen, azcentral, "Introducing the 2018 Top Companies to Work for in Arizona," 7 June 2018
How the video came to the attention of MTV's England operation has been difficult to ascertain.

— robert philpot, star-telegram, "A Fort Worth rapper will have a video on MTV this weekend. In England," 1 June 2018
For instance, the report asserts that the whales’ age can only be ascertained by analyzing earwax plugs that build up over time.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "Japan Killed 112 Pregnant Whales in the Name of Scientific Research," 30 May 2018
That's difficult to ascertain because very little research exists to quantify that.

— chip grabow and lisa rose, CNN, "The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined," 21 May 2018
As nearly as can be ascertained, General Crowder’s order will affect about 12,000 clerks in San Francisco.

— johnny miller, San Francisco Chronicle, "Wayback Machine: A flush of excitement over high-tech toilets in 1993," 17 May 2018
Former Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere attacked Greece for not only allowing Hussein to leave the country, but also for not trying to ascertain his true age.

— deutsche welle, USA TODAY, "Refugee gets life sentence for German student's murder," 22 Mar. 2018
The exercise is conducted annually by the Federal Reserve, which regulates banks and conducts many stress tests to ascertain the resilience of each institution.

— simon constable, WSJ, "What Is CCAR?," 3 June 2018
To ascertain meaning from such powerfully ambiguous novels requires a measure of readerly improvisation.

— dustin illingworth, latimes.com, "Elusive leaps of grace and daring: Rachel Cusk's 'Kudos'," 31 May 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of ascertain

Middle English acertainen to inform, give assurance to, from Anglo-French acerteiner, from a- (from Latin ad-) + certein, certain certain

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

ascertain Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of 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.