aver

verb

ə-ˈvər

averred; averring

Synonyms of aver next

transitive verb

: to declare positively

Mr. Murray avers that many large organizations in the private sector are run by curmudgeons like him …—

Joseph Epstein

law

: to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause

: to allege or assert in pleading

Did you know?

Since aver contains the "truth" root, it basically means "confirm as true". You may aver anything that you're sure of. In legal situations, aver means to state positively as a fact; thus, Perry Mason's clients aver that they are innocent, while the district attorney avers the opposite. If you make such a statement while under oath, and it turns out that you lied, you may have committed the crime of perjury.

Examples of aver in a Sentence

He averred that he was innocent. “I am innocent,” he averred.

Recent Examples on the Web The Taliban had evolved from American adversary into a partner in peace, Biden averred, and they could be trusted to see to U.S. interests in the region. —

Noah Rothman, National Review, 11 Sep. 2023 Both Ellen and Ken aver that sage and marijuana are both sacred medicinal plants. —

Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 28 Aug. 2022 And some aver that crime isn’t the problem at all, but the need for police reform is. —

Joseph Epstein, WSJ, 9 Jan. 2022 But the good news, optimists aver, is that China's authoritarian political system enables swift and decisive action. —

Clay Chandler and grady McGregor, Fortune, 21 Sep. 2021 Our spies also aver that the virus wasn’t developed as a biological weapon and that Chinese officials weren’t aware of the virus before the initial outbreak. —

The Editorial Board, WSJ, 27 Aug. 2021 But the numbers and message in the Biden budget explain why that won’t be as easy politically as Fed officials aver. —

The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 June 2021 The newspaper publisher and lexicographer Noah Webster averred that the pestilence emanated from the ash of a volcanic eruption in Sicily. —

Frederick Kaufman, The New Yorker, 13 May 2020 The management avers that a 52-week season is no longer viable, and that the orchestra needs to reduce to a 40-week season to survive. —

Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2019 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aver.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English averren, from Anglo-French averer, from Medieval Latin adverare to confirm as authentic, from Latin ad- + verus true — more at very entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler

The first known use of aver was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century