assure

verb as·sure \ ə-ˈshu̇r \

|Updated on: 15 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: assure in a Sentence

Definition of assure

assured; assuring

transitive verb

1 : to make sure or certain : convince

glancing back to assure himself no one was following

2 : to inform positively

I assure you that we can do it.

3 : to make certain the coming or attainment of : guarantee

worked hard to assure accuracy

4 : to make safe (as from risks or against overthrow) : insure

assured the security of the country

5 : to give confidence to

And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts …
—1 John 3:19 (King James Version)

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See assure defined for kids

Examples of assure in a Sentence

I can assure you that you won't be disappointed.
a minister choosing just the right words to assure the grieving parents of the fallen soldier

Recent Examples of assure from the Web

State officials assured the affected voters that their ballots would be counted, but only about 10 percent ended up voting, according to elections officials.

— michael dresser, baltimoresun.com, "Thousands of Maryland voters may have skipped primary because of MVA election error," 13 July 2018
Rajeev Subramanyam, American Express’s head of business-to-business digital payments automation, assured the room.

— vanessa fuhrmans, WSJ, "As More New Dads Get Paternity Leave, Companies Push Them to Take It," 11 July 2018
Executives assured investors in conference calls that the programs were performing well, while ITT's obligations to pay out on soured loans began to balloon, according to the complaint.

— danielle douglas-gabriel, latimes.com, "Defunct for-profit college firm ITT's former executives settle fraud charges," 10 July 2018
Wherever Markelle Fultz is shooting, rest assured: Brett Brown is watching.

— marcus hayes, Philly.com, "Sixers track Markelle Fultz's, Ben Simmons' shooting with sports science app | Marcus Hayes," 10 July 2018
Aides have assured Trump that Kethledge is good on that issue from the White House’s view.

— philip elliott, Time, "Inside Donald Trump's Supreme Court Deliberations," 9 July 2018
But as the election nears, and Obrador’s victory seems all but assured, political observers ponder how much of his campaign trail populism will follow him into office.

— james osborne, San Antonio Express-News, "As likely Mexican president Obrador softens tone, U.S. oil sector crosses fingers," 29 June 2018
The governor's office has assured local Queens residents that only public land will be used for the AirTrain connection, but that hasn't stopped a number of critics from speaking out.

— sebastian modak, Condé Nast Traveler, "New York-LaGuardia's AirTrain Gets the Go-Ahead," 26 June 2018
In a separate response, Freeman assured readers that public works employees clean parks on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

— don stacom, Courant Community, "Facebook Complaint Of 'Destroyed' Pope Park Playground Draws Response From City Official," 10 June 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of assure

Middle English, from Anglo-French asseurer, assurer, from Medieval Latin assecurare, from Latin ad- + securus secure

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

assure Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of assure

ensure, insure, assure, secure mean to make a thing or person sure. ensure, insure, and assure are interchangeable in many contexts where they indicate the making certain or inevitable of an outcome, but ensure may imply a virtual guarantee